U.S. officials feared that Israel might attempt to assassinate two of Iran’s most senior negotiators this spring, even as Washington engaged in sensitive diplomatic talks with Tehran aimed at securing an interim peace deal, according to current and former American officials cited by The New York Times. The concern centered on Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, both of whom played central roles in contacts designed to secure a ceasefire and later a broader arrangement with the United States.
The killing of senior Iranian leaders had been part of Israel’s military strategy from the beginning of the war, which began on February 28 with an Israeli strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other senior officials, a strike based in part on U.S. intelligence. American concern over the possible targeting of Araghchi and Ghalibaf intensified after serious negotiations began in April, the report said. U.S. officials feared that any Israeli attempt to kill the two men would destroy the talks and trigger a renewed round of fighting.
The United States was so concerned about a possible Israeli move that it asked other countries in the region to warn Iran that the two officials could be targeted. American officials acknowledged that during the height of the war, Araghchi and Ghalibaf, as senior Iranian government figures, could have been considered legitimate targets by Israel.
But once negotiations began in earnest, they believed killing them would likely end the diplomatic process.
A Strategic Shift from Military to Diplomatic Track
The record of the conflict shows a distinct shift in the American calculus by April. While U.S. strikes during the war focused mainly on Iran’s navy and missile forces, Israel concentrated in the early phase on eliminating senior Iranian leaders.
The timeline raises a central question for the administration of President Donald Trump: at what point did the diplomatic track supersede the military one in the eyes of Washington and its allies. What remains unclear from the available information is whether Israel ever developed operational plans to strike Araghchi or Ghalibaf during the negotiation period. The New York Times report does not indicate that any such attack was carried out or attempted.
The episode underscores the fragility of the U.S.-led diplomatic effort and the degree to which Washington was working to manage its ally’s military instincts even as it pursued a deal with a longtime adversary. Whether the talks survive that tension is the next question for officials on all sides.
The Broader Context of a Long-Standing Rivalry
This confrontation between Israel and Iran is not a new dispute but the latest phase of decades of rivalry. Israel views Iran’s leadership as an existential threat, given Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and support for armed groups along Israel’s borders. Israel is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia, bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, with its western coast on the Mediterranean Sea.
Jerusalem serves as the seat of government, while Tel Aviv is the largest urban and economic center. The land was home to ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
In the 19th century, European antisemitism gave rise to the Zionist movement, which sought a Jewish homeland. Britain backed that goal with the 1917 Balfour Declaration and later governed the area as Mandatory Palestine. Rising Arab-Jewish tensions culminated in a civil war after the 1947 United Nations partition plan. Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, as the British Mandate ended.
Arab states invaded the next day. The 1949 armistice left Israel with more territory than the UN had allotted, while no Palestinian Arab state emerged.
After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, the Egyptian Sinai, and the Syrian Golan Heights. It later signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. The Abraham Accords in 2020 normalized ties with more Arab states, but the Israeli-Palestinian conflict persists.
Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory has drawn international criticism, with many experts arguing that its treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank amounts to apartheid. That long-standing conflict took a dramatic turn in October 2023, when a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed hundreds of civilians and took hostages.
Israel responded with a military campaign that, according to the South African-led case at the International Court of Justice, amounts to genocide in Gaza. Israel and the United States deny that charge. The war described in the New York Times report began in February 2025 with an Israeli strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader.
The United States focused its strikes on Iran’s navy and missile forces, while Israel concentrated on eliminating senior Iranian leaders.
Implications for Regional Stability
The current episode demonstrates that even when the United States and Iran engage directly, the risk of a wider regional war remains acute, driven by Israel’s long-standing strategy of preemptive action against its adversaries. The possibility that Israel might assassinate high-level Iranian negotiators during sensitive American-led talks highlights how fragile the diplomatic path remains. For observers, the episode shows the delicate balance Washington must maintain between backing a key ally and pursuing negotiations with a longtime adversary.
Whether the talks survive that tension remains the next question for officials on all sides.
