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4d ago

U.S. Warned Iran That Israel Might Target Senior Negotiators

The private warnings delivered through Pakistan with Qatari help reflect U.S. fear that an attack could collapse fragile ceasefire talks.

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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office dismissed a New York Times report alleging U.S. concerns over Israel potentially targeting Iranian officials during peace talks in Islamabad.
Speaker of the Parliament of Iran Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrives at the Burgenstock resort in Obbuergen, Swtizerland, on June 21.
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Overview

  • The New York Times reported that U.S. officials privately feared Israel could target Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during negotiations in April 2026.
  • Washington asked regional intermediaries to warn Tehran and to protect the diplomatic track, a step that included Pakistan and Qatar passing messages between the parties.
  • Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian delegation to Islamabad and, on the return leg, Iranian authorities say intelligence of Israeli jets led the delegation to divert to Mashhad as a precaution.
  • Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office has publicly rejected the reporting as false while multiple international outlets have corroborated the Times’ sourcing from current and former U.S. officials but no independent public proof of a specific Israeli plot has been released.
  • The episode underscores a growing strategic rift between President Trump’s administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over strikes on senior Iranian figures and it raises the risk that security operations could unravel the June ceasefire framework and follow-up talks on nuclear inspections and maritime rules.