Israel Allegedly Plotted Assassinations of Iranian Negotiators to Prevent Early End to War

It has been alleged that Israel attempted to assassinate Iranian negotiators while the United States and Iran were engaged in talks for a temporary peace agreement this past April.

The New York Times reported, citing senior officials in the U.S. Trump administration, that Israel may have plotted to assassinate the head of the Iranian negotiating team, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The U.S. reportedly warned Iran in advance through other countries in the region, fearing that an Israeli assassination attempt would derail the negotiations.

The New York Times added that the U.S. government had identified Ghalibaf as being on an Israeli target list in March and had requested that Israel exercise restraint.

It is reported that after the ceasefire negotiations between the U.S. and Iran began, concerns grew within Israel that the war might end too quickly, which in turn escalated fears of an assassination attempt targeting the Iranian negotiating team.

While U.S. airstrikes were focused on the Iranian navy and missile units, Israel had prioritized striking the leadership from the early stages of the war, aiming to kill as many high-ranking officials as possible.

The New York Times assessed that the U.S. government's concern over Israel's assassination attempts illustrates how the war objectives of the two countries, which were closely aligned at the beginning of the conflict, have been rapidly diverging.

In particular, analysts suggest that the positions of the two nations significantly diverged when the U.S. chose a ceasefire for peace over a hardline approach this past April.

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Choi Kang-san | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.