The New York Times reports that U.S. officials believed Israel was preparing to target Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and that Washington asked regional countries to warn Tehran. The report adds that Ghalibaf's aircraft made an emergency landing in Mashhad after Iranian security received intelligence that Israel intended to strike the plane, with Iranian officials claiming two Israeli fighter jets entered Iranian airspace from Iraq.
The New York Times report that broke Thursday evening (22:09 Jerusalem) has added a new detail: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf's aircraft made an emergency landing in Mashhad after Iranian security received intelligence that Israel intended to strike the plane. The report, citing Iranian officials, also claimed that two Israeli fighter jets entered Iranian airspace from Iraq, prompting the diversion. This development comes as the same NYT report earlier revealed that the United States had intervened to prevent an alleged Israeli assassination plot against Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during ongoing nuclear talks.
The Zioneer has been tracking the story since the initial report at 22:09 Jerusalem Thursday. The first version cited U.S. and Iranian officials saying American intelligence suspected in April that Israel was planning to assassinate the two negotiators. Subsequent updates, all published within the same hour, specified that the U.S. enlisted multiple countries to warn Tehran, identified the targets, and detailed a planned flight to Islamabad for a meeting with Vice President JD Vance. The latest update adds the specific claim about the emergency landing and alleged Israeli incursion. The source of the report remains the same — the New York Times, citing unnamed U.S. and Iranian officials. No independent confirmation has emerged.
The report lands against a backdrop of heightened tensions. As The Zioneer reported on June 16, the IRGC is investigating a security leak at a meeting of Supreme Leader Khamenei, with Ghalibaf's son named as a suspect. On June 12, Araghchi warned that Israel is leading opposition to the emerging U.S.-Iran deal. The Israeli government has publicly opposed the nuclear talks, calling any agreement a "historic mistake," as The Zioneer reported on June 17.
The specific claims about the emergency landing and the alleged Israeli fighter jet incursion remain unverified by independent sources. The NYT report does not provide direct evidence of the alleged Israeli plot, and it is unclear whether the emergency landing was a precautionary measure or a direct response to a credible threat. Israeli officials have not commented on the report.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake