The New York Times reports that the United States suspected in real time that Israel was planning to assassinate Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and relayed a warning to Tehran. The report, cited by Israeli media, adds to previous accounts that Ghalibaf's aircraft made an emergency landing amid fears of an Israeli strike.
The New York Times has reported that the United States suspected in real time, during negotiations, that Israel was planning to assassinate two senior Iranian officials — Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — and passed a warning directly to Tehran, according to the report cited Friday by Israeli media.
The revelation deepens the picture from Friday morning, when The Zioneer reported the NYT's earlier account that Washington asked regional countries to warn Iran of Israel's alleged intentions, and that Ghalibaf's aircraft made an emergency landing in Mashhad after Iranian security received intelligence of a planned Israeli strike.
The new detail — that the U.S. itself transmitted a warning to the Iranians — suggests Washington's concern was sufficiently acute to bypass intermediaries and communicate directly with Tehran. The report does not specify how the warning was delivered or what precise intelligence triggered it. Both Ghalibaf and Araghchi serve as senior figures in Iran's delegation and represent the political leadership; any assassination attempt would have constituted a dramatic escalation during active talks.
3 developments
- DevelopingPMO dismisses New York Times report as 'complete fabrication of reality'
- DevelopingIsraeli official: ‘If and when Israel wants to eliminate anyone, it does so’
- DevelopingIran sent no new proposal to the US, source close to Iranian negotiating team says
- DevelopingIsrael Defense Minister's bureau releases transcript to rebut reports of attack on Netanyahu, Trump
Source and signal
- Open-source intake