US Warns Iran of Israeli Assassination Plots Against Iranian Negotiators Amid Nuclear Talks

In April 2026, during sensitive nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran, the US government suspected that Israel planned to assassinate key Iranian negotiators, including Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The American concern over potential sabotage was so severe that Washington actively intervened by urging various countries to deliver urgent warnings to Tehran about Israel's intentions.

The situation escalated when Qalibaf's plane, en route to Islamabad for a meeting with US Deputy Vice President J.D. Vance, was forced into an emergency landing in Mashhad following intelligence reports of Israeli fighter jets entering Iranian airspace near the Iraq border. Iranian security officials, fearing an Israeli attack during the flight, refused to take risks and secured guarantees from mediators in Qatar and Pakistan that Israel would not carry out covert operations against the delegation. Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian aircraft to and from Islamabad.

Despite these precautions, the return flight turned into a tense aerial chase. Iranian intelligence detected two Israeli fighter jets violating Iranian airspace, prompting urgent warnings to Qalibaf's plane. After the emergency landing, the Iranian delegation was compelled to travel back to Tehran by land, a journey lasting approximately eight hours.

This incident highlights the intense Israeli surveillance and repeated assassination attempts targeting Qalibaf, who survived previous near-fatal attacks during conflicts in June 2025 and the recent war. Both prior attacks involved Israeli strikes on secret underground bunkers housing senior Iranian officials. Iranian sources told The New York Times that Qalibaf narrowly escaped death in these operations.

The episode underscores the fragile security environment surrounding the nuclear talks and the high stakes involved in the US-Iran negotiations, with Israel actively seeking to disrupt the process through targeted actions against Iranian leadership.