Posted on 01/11/2020 11:00:24 AM PST by karpov
BERN, Switzerland—Hours after a U.S. strike killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Trump administration sent an urgent back channel message to Tehran: Don’t escalate.
The encrypted fax was sent via the Swiss Embassy in Iran, one of the few means of direct, confidential communication between the two sides, U.S. officials said.
In the days that followed, the White House and Iranian leaders exchanged further messages, which officials in both countries described as far more measured than the fiery rhetoric traded publicly by politicians.
A week later, and after a retaliatory Iranian missile attack on two military bases hosting American troops that inflicted no casualties, Washington and Tehran seemed to be stepping back from the brink of open hostilities—for now.
“We don’t communicate with the Iranians that much, but when we do the Swiss have played a critical role to convey messages and avoid miscalculation,” a senior U.S. official said.
A spokesman at Iran’s mission to the United Nations declined to comment on the exchanges but said “we appreciate [the Swiss] for any efforts they make to provide an efficient channel to exchange letters when and if necessary.”
One Iranian official said the back channel provided a welcome bridge, when all others had been burned: “In the desert, even a drop of water matters.”
From the Swiss Embassy, a Shah-era mansion overlooking Tehran, the country’s role as a diplomatic intermediary has stretched through four turbulent decades and seven presidencies, from the hostage crisis under Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama’s nuclear deal. It has seldom been tested like this.
The Americans’ first note was sent immediately after Washington confirmed the death of Gen. Soleimani, the most important figure in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the U.S. officials said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
But that is not what the Democrats are saying.And they are the ONLY ones the alphabet networks interview.
When genteel European countries rejected the warriors of the Crusades - they migrated to Switzerland... where they've been protecting the world ever since...
“There's a new sheriff in town.This isn't a fellow moslem you're dealing with anymore”.
I wonder who decrypted it. John Brennan probably.
Good, whatever works.
Good, whatever works.
Amazing how our nay sayers only feel that something works if they okay it. Even, when it is obvious it is working like the job market and our oil independence.
Sounds like a very high level leak to me. Brennan.
Sounds like a very high level leak to me. Brennan.
Why bother with encryption? It seems the media has eyes most everywhere.
Dems want the complete transcript to add to the impeachment....howl that “He’s hiding something” when he demurs.
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