that current and former US officials believe Israel was considering targeting senior Iranian negotiators during delicate diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran this spring, aimed at reaching a preliminary ceasefire agreement.
According to the newspaper, US administration officials expressed concern that Israeli plans might include targeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, both prominent members of the Iranian negotiating team in the indirect talks with the United States.
The report indicated that Washington feared that any assassination targeting high-ranking negotiators at this sensitive stage would lead to a complete collapse of the talks and a return to military escalation. This prompted, according to US officials, to request that regional parties warn Iran about the potential targeting of these two leaders.
The New York Times adds that targeting Iranian leaders has been part of Israel's strategy since the beginning of the war. However, American concerns escalated particularly after the ceasefire negotiations began in April, as Washington believed that continued operations against key negotiating figures would undermine any chance of reaching a political settlement.
According to American officials quoted in the report, the United States considered Araqchi and Qalibaf, despite their political positions, to be essential elements in the negotiation process, and that targeting them at that stage would derail international mediation efforts.
According to the newspaper, the war—as presented in the report's timeline—began with an Israeli strike in February that killed prominent Iranian figures, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several senior officials, based on American intelligence. This strike subsequently prompted international involvement in efforts to contain the escalation.
The New York Times notes that the initial phase of the war saw Israel focus on targeting Iran's political and military leadership, while the United States concentrated on strikes against Iran's naval and missile infrastructure. The priorities of the two sides later diverged with the commencement of the diplomatic process.
The report also states that other political figures involved in the negotiations, such as Ali Larijani and Kamal Kharrazi, were targeted in Israeli strikes, further complicating the political and security landscape in the region and raising concerns about the potential collapse of any negotiating track.
According to the newspaper's sources, the US administration believed that targeting Iranian negotiators would destroy the de-escalation efforts, especially given the indirect diplomatic rounds underway in Qatar and Switzerland, in which US officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, participated.
Conversely, the New York Times quoted Israeli and American sources as saying that Tel Aviv viewed some of the negotiating outcomes as contradicting its military objectives, particularly those related to a ceasefire without fundamental regime change in Iran or the dismantling of its missile program.
The report also noted that intensive diplomatic efforts were underway to ensure the protection of the negotiating delegations, including unprecedented security arrangements during the travel of Iranian officials, amid fears of possible assassinations or targeting while on the move.
Despite these concerns, the report indicates that talks between the two sides did not cease, with meetings continuing in Qatar and Switzerland throughout June, in an attempt to reach a preliminary framework for a broader agreement encompassing the Iranian nuclear program and regional shipping lanes. The
New York Times concluded its report by noting that the divergence between the American and Israeli positions reflects a growing divergence in war objectives and post-conflict strategies, between an American vision focused on a political settlement and a more hardline Israeli approach toward Iran.
