Senior U.S. officials feared during ceasefire talks with Iran that Israel might try to assassinate two of Tehran’s top negotiators Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf in a move that could have blown up the diplomatic effort, according to The New York Times.
The concern surfaced as Washington was trying to keep a fragile backchannel with Tehran alive after the war began in late February. American officials believed that if either Araghchi or Ghalibaf were killed while negotiations were underway, the talks could collapse and the fighting could quickly resume. U.S. officials went so far as to warn Israel against carrying out such an assassination, while also using intermediaries to help ensure the safety of Iran’s negotiating team.
At the center of the episode was a planned April trip by Ghalibaf to Islamabad for meetings tied to the diplomacy, including a planned meeting with Vice President JD Vance. Iranian officials feared Israel could use the trip to target one or both men, and sought assurances through Pakistani and Qatari intermediaries that no covert operation would be carried out against the delegation. Pakistani fighter jets later escorted the Iranian aircraft carrying more than 70 delegation members to Islamabad and back, underscoring the level of concern surrounding the visit.
During the return to Tehran, Iranian officials were reportedly alerted that Israeli fighter jets had entered Iranian airspace from western Iraq and could target Ghalibaf’s plane. The aircraft was diverted to Mashhad, and the delegation completed the rest of the trip overland.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
