Israel's killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, has destroyed what may have been the last viable path to negotiations between Tehran and Washington, "Hvylya" reports, citing the Washington Post.
For years, Larijani maintained a back-channel with the United States through Europe. Before he was killed, there were reports he was exploring ways through Moscow to reach the Trump administration, according to a European official formerly based in Iran. His assassination, the official said, "damaged the prospect of talks because he was uniquely qualified to engage with the West."
Larijani was among four senior Iranian officials killed in Israeli strikes within the past week alone. The IRGC spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini was also eliminated. The rapid succession of targeted killings has sent a clear message to Tehran's ruling class - and appears to have hardened, rather than softened, its stance on diplomacy.
The European official described the killings as "a stress test of a system built to outlast specific individuals." In the short term, the assassinations are deeply concerning for Iran's leadership. "Long term, I think it increases defiance," he said.
Qatari and Omani ceasefire feelers were rebuffed - Tehran refused to talk unless the U.S. and Israel stopped attacking first. Analysts say toppling the Iranian government by force remains unlikely in the near term.
The Iranian diplomat framed the impasse in stark terms: "This is the very beginning of U.S. getting stuck in a swamp. There is no other ramp off."
Previously: McMaster Outlines Three Scenarios for Post-War Iran - and Two of Them Are Disastrous.