Ghalibaf and Araghchi Removed from US and Israel's Temporary Target List

Washington (ANTARA) - The United States (US) and Israel have removed the names of Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi from their target list amid suspicions of talks with Tehran, according to US media on Wednesday.

According to The Wall Street Journal, citing US sources, the removal of Ghalibaf and Araghchi from the target list is only temporary and will last for five days.

The removal of the two Iranian officials from the target list follows President Donald Trump’s claim earlier this week that Washington and Tehran have held “very positive and productive” talks, thereby delaying a US attack on Iranian energy infrastructure and hoping for progress to be achieved within five days.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied reports of direct talks, stating that they only received a message expressing Washington’s desire to engage in dialogue.

On 28 February, the US and Israel launched joint attacks on several targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran then retaliated by attacking Israeli territory as well as US military targets in the Middle East in self-defence.

The attacks were described as a “preemptive” measure to counter threats from Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the US and Israel later stated that they also sought regime change in the country.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reported to have been killed on the first day of the joint military operation.

Throughout the series of attacks, several senior Iranian military and political officials were also reported killed, including Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Mohammad Pakpour, and National Defence Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the killing of Khamenei as a cynical violation of international law. Russia’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the US-Israeli operation and called for immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities.