Israel removed Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf from its target list after Pakistan asked Washington not to target them, a Pakistani source told Reuters on Thursday (26).
“The Israelis had their coordinates and wanted to eliminate them. We told the US that if they were also eliminated, there would be no one left to talk to. So the US asked Israel to back down,” the source said.
The Armed Forces and Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the two top Iranian officials have been temporarily removed from Israel’s hit list while possible peace talks are assessed.
According to the newspaper, the two were removed from the list for up to four or five days, without mentioning any Pakistani role.
Pakistan, Egypt and are acting as mediators between Tehran and Washington to end the conflict with Iran.
Islamabad has been in direct contact with both Washington and Tehran at a time when these channels are cut off for most other countries.
The Pakistani capital is also seen as a likely location for eventual peace negotiations.
Iran is analyzing a proposal, sent through Pakistan, to end the conflict.
The proposal calls for removing Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, suspending enrichment, limiting its ballistic missile program and cutting funding to regional allies, according to Israeli cabinet sources familiar with the plan.
Trump said Iran was desperate to reach a deal, while Araqchi said Tehran was analyzing the US proposal but had no intention of starting negotiations to end the conflict.
