Why Israel removed Iran’s FM Araghchi, Speaker Ghalibaf from ‘hit list’? Report says THESE countries, including Pakistan, warned Trump to…
Iran war: Amid US President Donald Trump’s efforts to hammer out a peace deal with Iran to end the raging conflict in West Asia, the United States and Israel have temporarily removed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf from their “hit list” following warnings from countries who are mediating negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
Why Israel removed Araghchi and Ghalibaf from ‘hit list’?
According to a Reuters report, mediators from Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt warned the Trump administration in Washington that the assassination of Araghchi and Ghalibaf, two of Iran’s top negotiators, will burn all paths to a diplomatic solution as their would be no one left in Tehran to talk to.
“The Israelis had their coordinates and wanted to take them out. We told the US that if they are also eliminated, then there is no one else to talk to, hence, the US asked the Israelis to back off, Reuters reported, citing a Pakistani source privy to the discussions.
As per the Pakistani sources, Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf were targets for Israel, but mediators told Washington that their killing would burn all bridges for negotiating a peace deal with Iran.
Will US-Iran peace talks take place?
However, the relief is temporary as Israel has agreed to remove the Iranian leaders from their hit list for the next four to five days, and their assassination may once again be on the table if Trump’s efforts to reach a peace deal with Iran fail, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the WSJ report, while mediators from Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt are pushing for a meeting between negotiators from Tehran and Washington over the next few days to discuss a temporary pause in the war for peace talks to take place, officials believe negotiations are unlikely to yield any success because of major gaps between demands put forth by the two sides.
Trump warns Iran to ‘better get serious’
On Thursday, Donald Trump warned Iran to “get serious” about negotiations “before it is too late”, or there will be “no turning back, and it won’t be pretty”.
In a Truth Social Post, Trump described Iranian negotiators as “strange”, and claimed that Tehran is “begging to make a deal”, but are publicly stating that they are only looking at the US proposal.
“The Iranian negotiators are very different and “strange.” They are “begging” us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only ‘looking at our proposal’” Trump wrote.
Iran rejects Trump’s peace proposal
Trump’s remarks came after Iran on Wednesday rejected his peace plan that included a 15-point proposal seeking a temporary ceasefire and other terms for de-escalation.
The Iranian leadership described the proposal as unacceptable and a “one-sided affair”, calling instead for its own conditions for ending hostilities and asserting it would not negotiate terms that compromise Iranian sovereignty.