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Iran: News Emerge about Shamkhani Taking over Nuclear Talks amid Foreign Ministry’s Silence

The late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Shamkhani during a government meeting (Mehr)
The late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Shamkhani during a government meeting (Mehr)
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Iran: News Emerge about Shamkhani Taking over Nuclear Talks amid Foreign Ministry’s Silence

The late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Shamkhani during a government meeting (Mehr)
The late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Shamkhani during a government meeting (Mehr)

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani remained silent regarding reports that Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to the Iranian leader, was assigned to supervise indirect talks between Washington and Tehran with the aim of reviving the nuclear agreement.
Unofficial reports stated that Shamkhani took over the management of the nuclear file at the beginning of March. The Iranian official supervised the nuclear talks conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the tenure of former President Hassan Rouhani, when he served as Secretary General of the Supreme National Security Council for 10 years.
Speaking to reporters in Tehran, Kanaani said: “I don’t have any specific points to clarify regarding indirect allegations on social media,” adding: “Negotiations are continuing under the supervision of senior officials.”
The Rouydad 24 website stated that the nuclear negotiations and the development of related policies were assigned to the Supreme National Security Council at the start of Raisi’s tenure, in accordance with a decision to separate tasks among the Iranian agencies. Ali Bagheri Kani, the current acting Foreign Minister, has led the nuclear negotiating team
News of Shamkhani’s appointment comes after the Axios news website reported that indirect negotiations took place on May 18 between Iranian and US officials in Muscat.
The website quoted informed sources as saying that the round of talks was the first since January, and was attended by Brett McGurk, advisor to the US President for Middle East affairs, and Abram Paley, the US special envoy to Iran.
The website, however, did not reveal the identity of the Iranian officials who participated in “the talks that addressed US concerns about the status of the Iranian nuclear program.”

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Former Israeli Hostage Dies at 78

A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
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Former Israeli Hostage Dies at 78

A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)

Hannah Katzir, an Israeli woman who was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, and freed in a brief ceasefire last year, has died. She was 78.

She was among the 250 hostages the Palestinian group Hamas took back into Gaza following the surprise attack that left about 1,200 people dead.

Israel’s subsequent bombardment and ground invasion have killed over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.

The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of people taken captive, confirmed Katzir’s death Tuesday but did not disclose the cause.

Her daughter, Carmit Palty Katzir said in a statement that her mother’s “heart could not withstand the terrible suffering since Oct. 7.”

Katzir’s husband, Rami, was killed during the attack by fighters who raided their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Her son Elad was also kidnapped and his body was recovered in April by the Israeli military, who said he had been killed in captivity.

She spent 49 days in captivity and was freed in late November 2023. Shortly after Katzir was freed, her daughter told Israeli media that she had been hospitalized with heart issues attributed to “difficult conditions and starvation” while she was held captive.