US Warned Iran Israel Might Target Negotiators

U.S. officials feared, per a report at 23:14 IDT after liveblog updates at 22:56 and 22:33, that Israel might target Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during spring U.S.-Iran talks. Citing current and former U.S. officials, the reports say Washington asked regional counterparts to warn Tehran because killing the negotiators could collapse diplomacy and reignite fighting. U.S. officials also acknowledged the two men were legitimate Israeli targets earlier in the war while Israel was striking Iran's leadership. Israel's security freedom must remain intact, but any diplomatic channel with Tehran is useful only if it prevents Iran from rebuilding nuclear and proxy threats.