Israel Plotted to Kill Iran Peace Negotiators
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- Trump administration officials believed Israel intended to assassinate Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf during US-Iran ceasefire talks that began in April, and asked regional countries to warn Iran, according to The New York Times.
- The US and Israel had killed dozens of top Iranian officials since launching their joint war in late February, but removed Araghchi and Ghalibaf from their target list in late March, opening the door to high-level negotiations.
- An April flight carrying Ghalibaf and a 70+ member Iranian delegation was escorted by Pakistani fighter jets to Islamabad for talks with Vice President JD Vance; on the return, Iranian security intercepted intelligence of two Israeli fighter jets entering Iranian airspace, forcing an emergency landing in Mashhad and an eight-hour land journey to Tehran.
- Cracks emerged between the US and Israeli approaches after Israel assassinated top Iranian national security official Ali Larijani in March, per The Washington Post, with Trump telling reporters in late March: "They've wiped out everybody."
- Quincy Institute's Trita Parsi argued Netanyahu has both political and personal motives to derail the diplomacy, since losing October elections could strip him of immunity from corruption charges.
- Netanyahu visited occupied southern Lebanon this week and told troops Israel will not leave "until the threat is removed"—a stance Iran has flagged as a key factor in the negotiations.
Why it matters: The reporting exposes a direct US-Israel conflict of interest: Israel is actively sabotaging the very negotiations the Trump administration is pursuing. With Netanyahu's October reelection prospects weakening and corruption prosecution looming, his personal incentive to prolong the war directly threatens the fragile US-Iran track—and may force Washington to choose between its diplomatic opening and its alliance with Israel.
