The US asked countries in the Middle East to warn Iran that Israel could target two of Tehran’s senior negotiators during sensitive ceasefire talks earlier this year, according to a report in The New York Times TurkicWorld reports via arabnews.
Washington feared Tel Aviv might attempt to assassinate Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, derailing negotiations over an interim peace deal that began in April and potentially reigniting the conflict.
The concerns became significant enough that the US asked regional intermediaries to privately warn Tehran about the potential threat, according to the report in the Times on Thursday.
The warning underscored an emerging divergence between Washington and Israel over the objectives of the Iran war. While the US prioritized securing a negotiated settlement with Iran, Israel remained focused on weakening Tehran’s leadership and pursuing broader strategic goals, including regime change and curbing Iran’s regional influence.
During the early stages of the conflict, Israel had targeted senior Iranian officials, including Ali Larijani, Iran’s senior national security official, and former Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, both of whom had been involved in contacts with Washington.
Araghchi and Ghalibaf could have been considered legitimate military targets during the initial phase of the conflict, but once negotiations began in earnest in April, Washington concluded that any attempt to assassinate the two men would jeopardize the diplomatic track, US officials told the publication.
Iran responded by tightening security around its negotiating team. Before a planned meeting in Islamabad with US Vice President JD Vance, Iranian officials sought assurances through Pakistani and Qatari intermediaries that Israel would not target their delegation.
According to Iranian officials cited by the Times, Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian delegation’s aircraft through Pakistani airspace. On the return journey, the plane carrying Ghalibaf was reportedly diverted after Iranian security services warned of intelligence suggesting Israeli fighter jets had entered Iranian airspace.
Despite those concerns, Araghchi and Ghalibaf continued participating in talks, later traveling to Qatar and Switzerland for additional rounds of talks with US officials.
The US and Iran signed a framework agreement in June, launching a new 60-day round of negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The agreement drew opposition from Israeli officials, who argued that it fell short of Israel’s wartime objectives because it neither forced political change in Tehran nor weakened Iran’s military capabilities.
