US Suspects Israel Tried to Assassinate Iranian Negotiators During 2026 Talks

In April 2026, during critical negotiations with Iran, the United States suspected that Israel attempted to assassinate two leading Iranian negotiators, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The US reportedly warned various countries to alert Iran of this threat, according to the New York Times. Ghalibaf was scheduled to travel to Islamabad for a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, but Iranian security officials feared Israel might exploit the opportunity to target him or Araghchi to derail the talks.

Iran sought guarantees through Pakistani and Qatari intermediaries that Israel would not carry out covert operations against its delegation. Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian planes from the border to Islamabad and back. However, on the return flight to Tehran, Iranian security forces received intelligence that Israeli jets had entered Iranian airspace near the Iraq border, planning an attack on Ghalibaf’s plane. This forced an emergency landing in Mashhad, near the Pakistan border, after which the delegation traveled by land for about eight hours to Tehran.

Iranian officials revealed that Ghalibaf had narrowly escaped death in two previous incidents, including a June 2025 Israeli strike on a secret government bunker. US officials believed any assassination attempt during the negotiations would end the talks and reignite conflict. Israeli officials viewed the agreement as a failure to achieve their war aims, fearing it would provide Iran with billions of dollars and allow rapid rebuilding of its military and nuclear ambitions.

A US official and a Middle Eastern source told the New York Times that the Trump administration was aware that Ghalibaf was on Israel’s target list and urged Israel to avoid targeting him. Iran took extensive precautions during the talks, including trips to Qatar in late May and Switzerland in June for further meetings with US negotiators.