The Wall Street Journal reports, citing an anonymous source, that the CIA provided Israel with a list of 5–10 senior Iranian officials whom the US asked to avoid targeting. The list is based on an assessment that they could play a role in a future, more moderate Iranian leadership. The report names Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as among those included.
The Wall Street Journal report, published Tuesday afternoon, builds on an earlier report from the same outlet at 12:46 Jerusalem time that initially revealed the CIA list without naming specific individuals. The new details identify Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as targets Israel was asked to exclude.
Both figures have previously been the subject of US concerns about Israeli targeting. In July, The New York Times reported that American officials suspected Israel planned to assassinate Araghchi and Ghalibaf during a sensitive diplomatic window, and that Washington asked regional states to warn Tehran. The current WSJ report frames the list as part of a US effort to preserve potential future reformers within the Iranian leadership, rather than a short-term operational restriction.
The report has not been independently verified, and neither the CIA nor Israeli officials have commented publicly. The Zioneer reported the initial WSJ claim earlier today.
2 developments
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Source and signal
- Open-source intake