Iran Negotiations Day 16: U.S. Feared Israel Would Kill Iran’s Top Negotiators 

The dayslong funeral for Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who was assassinated by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 — began on Friday, with ceremonies beginning Saturday and expected to draw millions of mourners from across the country, as negotiations to end the conflict entered their 16th day.

The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing anonymous U.S. officials, that the U.S. worried in April that Israel would attempt to assassinate Iran’s lead negotiators — Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf  — during ceasefire negotiations. Officials told the Times that the U.S. had directed other countries to warn Iran about the potential Israeli assassination plot, while a senior advisor to Ghalibaf confirmed that his plane was diverted en route back to Iran after Tehran’s security forces notified the plane that they had received intelligence Israel planned to attack it.

The Financial Times reported on Friday that transits through the Strait of Hormuz have spiked in the past week, noting that “the number of transits into and out of the Gulf including ‘dark voyages’ reached a total of 258 in the week to June 28, up from 41 in the first week of the crisis in March, according to data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence.” Transits have more than quadrupled in the past week alone. Still, the situation around the strait is volatile. Iran’s central military command on Thursday warned all vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz that they must follow routes designated by the Iranian government or face an “immediate and forceful response.”

The Israeli military announced more airstrikes in southern Lebanon. Iran has warned that Israel’s bombing campaign and occupation of Lebanon could lead to the termination of the interim peace deal to end the broader regional war. 

The first article of the 60-day interim peace agreement that entered into effect on June 17 conditions an end to the Iran War on the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon” and “ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon.” But a separate framework negotiated between the U.S., Israel, and the Lebanese government conditions the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon upon “the verified disarmament” of Hezbollah. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has led that diplomatic process.