US believes that Israel plotted assassination of Araghchi, Ghalibaf — NYT

Lead

US officials believed that Israel may have plotted to assassinate two of Iran’s leading negotiators during delicate talks between Washington and Tehran this spring, according to accounts carried by Al Jazeera, the Jerusalem Post and TASS. The alleged targets were Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. American officials were sufficiently concerned that they asked other governments to warn Iran of the possible threat and, according to one report, directly requested that Israel refrain from any attempt on Ghalibaf’s life.

The reports, drawing on a New York Times account and confirmation from US officials, place the episode at a moment when the United States and Iran had reached an interim agreement aimed at halting the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Washington feared that any successful strike on the negotiators would collapse the talks and reignite fighting. Israel has dismissed the underlying report as a fabrication.

Coverage Comparison

Al Jazeera, the Jerusalem Post and TASS all centered their reporting on the same core allegation: that sources in President Donald Trump’s administration suspected Israel of planning to kill Araghchi and Ghalibaf while the two men led Iran’s side of negotiations with the United States. Each outlet noted that Israel had earlier killed two other Iranian officials involved in talks with Washington, and that Ghalibaf himself had previously survived assassination attempts.

Al Jazeera framed the episode as evidence of strain in the US-Israel relationship and portrayed Israeli actions as a potential spoiler to the negotiations. It highlighted that American officials turned to third-party governments to alert Iran and linked the warnings to an interim US-Iran understanding on ending hostilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The Jerusalem Post similarly emphasized US officials’ concerns that Israel might exploit the cease-fire talks as a window of opportunity, adding that Ghalibaf was reportedly targeted again in April while flying to Islamabad for a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance. TASS stressed that Washington asked Israel to refrain from assassinating Ghalibaf and that the Iranian delegation sought guarantees from the United States that Israel would conduct no clandestine operations ahead of the Islamabad talks. TASS also described an incident in which Iranian security services learned of a plot involving Israeli fighter jets entering Iranian airspace, prompting Ghalibaf’s plane to divert and the delegation to continue by land.

The three outlets differed in emphasis and detail but converged on the central claim that US officials acted on the belief that an Israeli plot existed and that such a plot would have undermined American diplomatic goals.

Key Claims

• US officials asked other governments to warn Iran of a possible Israeli plot to assassinate Iranian negotiators, as reported by Al Jazeera, the Jerusalem Post and TASS.
• The alleged targets were Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, according to all three outlets.
• Israel had previously killed two other Iranian officials involved in negotiations with the United States, a point carried by Al Jazeera, the Jerusalem Post and TASS.
• Ghalibaf had survived two earlier Israeli assassination attempts, as reported across the three sources.
• The United States and Iran had reached an interim agreement to halt the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera.
• Ghalibaf was targeted again in April when he flew to Islamabad to meet US Vice President JD Vance, a detail reported by the Jerusalem Post.
• Washington asked Israel to refrain from trying to assassinate Ghalibaf, according to TASS.
• The Iranian delegation requested guarantees from Washington that Israel would refrain from any clandestine operations, as reported by TASS.

Perspectives

United States administration: Officials in the Trump administration viewed a possible Israeli assassination plot as a genuine risk to ongoing negotiations with Iran. They judged the danger serious enough to warn Tehran through third countries and to urge Israel to stand down, reflecting a growing divergence between American diplomatic objectives and Israeli military actions.

Israel: The Israeli government has dismissed the New York Times report on which the accounts are based as a fabrication, rejecting the suggestion that it planned to kill the Iranian negotiators.

Iranian side: The Iranian delegation sought explicit guarantees from Washington that Israel would not conduct clandestine operations during the talks, indicating Tehran’s own assessment that such a threat existed and required American assurances.