The US asked Israel not to kill either the Foreign Minister or the president of the Iranian Parliament in order to negotiate

The decision to ‘pardon’ Araqchi and Qalibaf within the ‘Roar of the Lion’ campaign with which Israel tries to selectively behead the regime was made at the request of Pakistanwho acts as mediator. Islamabad has served as a transmission belt in recent days for exchanges of peace proposals between the US and Iran, and has even offered to organize a summit.

“The Israelis had their coordinates [de objetivos] and they wanted to execute them, so we told the United States and told them that if they were eliminated, there would be no one left to talk to. Therefore, the US asked Israel to remove them from the list“, he tells the agency Reuters a Pakistani source familiar with the talks.

In parallel, Tel Aviv has continued to order attacks against Israeli commanders. The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy, Alireza Tangsiriwould have died in an attack carried out in the coastal town of Bandar Abbas, according to the Israeli press, citing military sources. He is considered the main person responsible for the operation to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Various information points to a growing dissension between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu over the development of Operation ‘Epic Fury’ against Iran. The deadline to advance the negotiations stipulated by the US president ends this Friday, and Israel fears that they will be forced to accept a ceasefire that would help calm international markets.

An example of this division of opinions is collected Axioswhich claims that Netanyahu proposed to Trump that he urge the Iranian opposition to demonstrate after the assassination of Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and “strong man” after the death of Khamenei. “Why the hell should we tell people that take to the streets if you are going to be shot down“?” he would have responded.

Since the beginning of hostilities, Trump has been ambivalent about the campaign of targeted assassinations of leaders. He even commented that they had been selecting possible profiles to succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but that they were “all dead” and that soon “they would not know anyone.” But he was also “proud” to kill someone he called “unhinged scum.”

According to the publication Wall Street JournalTrump would have communicated to his cabinet his frustration with the prolongation of the war as it approaches one month. He would have urged them to fulfill their promise that the operation would last “four to six weeks”, which would be incompatible with a prolonged conflict and military occupation as in the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Will the agreement be possible?

The Trump Administration sent a 15 point peace agreement to their Iranian interlocutors through Pakistan. Tehran rejected the proposal as “excessive” and responded with five demands to end the war. We would be talking about a complete withdrawal of sanctions in exchange for Iran giving up its nuclear program.

Iran would also have to commit to stopping financing its international allied groups such as Hezbollah, and guarantee the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for merchant and hydrocarbon transit. In response to these demands, the Iranian parliament has announced that it is preparing to approve a rule that allows charge a 20% fee to each ship for transit.

The Pentagon has prepared the deployment of thousands of soldiers in the area between marines, paratroopers and special forces, which could have as its objective the military occupation of Jark Island. Seizing this nerve center of Iranian oil would allow Trump to negotiate from a position of strength.

Tehran, for its part, has not given any sign of betting on de-escalation, fortifying Jark pending the offensive. He has even been allowed to choose his interlocutor in the conversations with the US: he will be the vice president JD Vancethe member of the Administration most reluctant to launch Operation Epic Fury’, who meets with them in Pakistan.