‘Revealing’: CNN Expert Says Bombshell Reports Show Major Trump, Israel Split

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer spoke to the President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations Amb. Richard Haass on Friday and asked him about the bombshell reports that the U.S. warned Iran that Israel was looking to scuttle their negotiations with more assassinations.

Both The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on Thursday that U.S. officials asked allies to warn Iran in recent weeks that Israel could attempt to assassinate Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf amid ongoing negotiations.

“But let’s start with this news: in your view, just how significant is it that the U.S. would issue this indirect warning to Iran about Israel’s plans?” Blitzer asked Haass after an introduction.

“Well, assuming for a second that it’s true — I can’t corroborate it — it’s quite extraordinary, even in a war that’s been extraordinary. It really highlights how divergent the US and Israeli interests are at this point. The US wants nothing more than to negotiate an end to this war. Many in Israel want the war to continue because so many of their war aims have not been accomplished. So it’s quite fascinating,” Haass replied, adding:

I also think it shows that the Trump administration keeps trying to build up a degree of trust with this Iranian leadership. I don’t see that it’s working. I don’t see that it’s being reciprocated. But all in all, it’s quite a revealing vignette. Let’s just put it that way.

Blitzer replied, “Revealing, indeed. Iranians, meanwhile, as you heard, are gathering across Tehran to honor the late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a week-long funeral after he was killed in a U.S. and Israeli airstrike when the war began in February. What are you watching for at this funeral?”

“One is whether it goes off without an attack — I expect the administration, the Trump administration, has leaned on the Israelis not to use this as an opportunity to take out any Iranian leaders. That’s the first thing,” Haass replied, adding:

The other is, obviously, the rhetoric: how defiant is it? To what extent is the language really anti-American as well as anti-Israeli? To what extent do they, for example, talk about nuclear issues and so forth? Now, it’s interesting, Wolf, as you know, that in many ways Ayatollah Khamenei represented a slightly more cautious leadership than those who have succeeded him. So it’ll be interesting to see exactly how he is portrayed, and what, if any, signals we get about the new balance of power in Iran.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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