US officials believed Israel was planning to assassinate senior Iranian negotiators earlier this year while talks were underway between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending hostilities, according to reports by The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Citing anonymous US officials, both newspapers reported that Israel had allegedly planned to target Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the country’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who also serves as the speaker of Iran’s parliament.
“You kill those folks, and you’re killing the pragmatists,” one US official told The Washington Post.
According to The New York Times, US officials said Washington asked countries in the Middle East to warn Iran about the alleged assassination threat.
The reports noted that Israel has previously been accused of targeting negotiating counterparts in what critics say is an effort to derail talks aimed at ending regional conflicts.
In October, the Israeli military carried out an attack in Doha targeting a Hamas compound while officials from the group were reviewing a ceasefire proposal with Israel, according to the reports.