Israel Attempted to Assassinate Iranian Negotiators During Cease-Fire Talks

▲ An Iranian delegation aircraft arriving in Pakistan

Circumstances have emerged suggesting that Israel attempted to assassinate members of an Iranian delegation while they were in the midst of cease-fire negotiations with the United States.

It is reported that the U.S. detected these attempts by Israel and urgently relayed warnings to Iran through intermediary nations.

According to a report by the New York Times on July 2 (local time), these events took place after cease-fire negotiations between Iran and the U.S. began to intensify in April.

Citing current and former U.S. officials, the newspaper reported that the targets of the assassination attempts were Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Parliament, and Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, both of whom are among the highest-ranking officials in Iran.

These two individuals are among the few members of the Iranian leadership who have survived previous repeated assassination attempts by Israel.

The U.S. was reportedly deeply concerned that Israel’s assassination attempts would be a major setback for the cease-fire talks, which had gained momentum since April, especially given that these two individuals were part of the Iranian delegation at the negotiating table.

Consequently, U.S. officials stated that the U.S. requested neighboring countries in the Middle East to warn Iran about the possibility of such assassination attempts by Israel.

Previously, as the war with Iran that began in February escalated, the U.S. was aware that Ghalibaf and Araghchi were likely on Israel’s assassination list.

However, as the war entered a phase of cease-fire negotiations, the U.S. determined that any assassination attempt against these two would lead to a breakdown in dialogue and an escalation of the conflict.

The Israeli Embassy in the U.S. declined to comment on the matter.

When asked about the situation, a U.S. official stated that both delegations are continuing their contact, and that President Donald Trump has expressed his hope for the peace process to continue.

In a report from March, the Wall Street Journal previously noted that Israel had placed Araghchi and Ghalibaf on an assassination list but had tentatively removed them after negotiations between the U.S. and Iran began.

In its report on July 2, the New York Times cited U.S. and Middle Eastern officials stating that the Trump administration was aware that at least Ghalibaf had been targeted by Israel and had requested that Israel exercise restraint.

In particular, it was reported that Iran took preemptive measures to prevent Israeli assassination attempts as the cease-fire negotiations got on track.

Before Ghalibaf flew to Islamabad, the capital of the intermediary nation Pakistan, in April, Iranian authorities were reportedly concerned that Israel would look for an opportunity to assassinate Ghalibaf or Araghchi during the trip.

As a result, Iran sought to obtain guarantees from the U.S. through intermediaries in Pakistan or Qatar that Israel would not carry out any covert operations targeting the Iranian delegation.

Following this, Pakistani fighter jets escorted the plane carrying approximately 70 members of the Iranian delegation from the border to Islamabad.

Pakistani fighter jets were also deployed on the return flight after the U.S.-Iran talks concluded.

However, an unexpected situation arose on the return route due to security threats from Israel.

The Iranian military reported that it had received intelligence of an Israeli attack plan against the plane carrying Ghalibaf back to Tehran.

In particular, the Iranian military warned that two Israeli fighter jets had already entered Iranian airspace via Iraq.

As a result, the plane carrying the Iranian delegation could not fly all the way to Tehran and made an emergency landing at Mashhad Airport in Iran, near the Pakistani border, the New York Times reported.

It added that the Iranian delegation then had to travel to Tehran by land, a journey that took about 8 hours, instead of by air.

Since then, Ghalibaf and Araghchi have remained at the forefront of negotiations with the U.S., and in June, they flew to Switzerland to hold a second in-person meeting with a U.S. delegation, including Vice President JD Vance, to continue follow-up negotiations for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a cease-fire.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)

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