Trita Parsi

This is someone who was involved in these talks.

I don't know if he was leading it or not, but he is an old foreign policy hand.

Even two, three years ago, he gave a speech at the Doha Forum.

He was

essentially sent there as an envoy of the then Supreme Leader Khamenei.

He served as Iran's foreign minister for many, many years.

And within that system, these former officials still tend to play a critical role.

And given the fact that so many of them have been assassinated, it means that the remaining ones end up playing an even greater role.

So it wouldn't surprise me at all that he has been deeply involved, whether he was overseeing it or not, but deeply involved

in this channel initiated by some regional states and currently led by Pakistan.

The fact that the Israelis would target him is just a continuation of a long standing pattern in which the Israelis are trying to kill every person that potentially not only could negotiate, but also could bring the Iranian system into a consensus on a deal.

It's very important to understand this point.

This is a very diverse system.

They have factions, a lot of infighting, et cetera.

It's not just about having someone who has the capability of negotiating, who has the endorsement of the Supreme Leader, but also someone who can build consensus within that system.

in order to go along with an agreement.

So when they killed Ali Larijani last week or so, that was someone who played a critical role in getting conservatives to agree to the JCPOA 11 years ago.

And he had that ability.

He was essentially the consensus maker in chief.

Going after Harazi is just a continuation of that pattern.