The United States allegedly warned Iran this spring that Israel was plotting to assassinate Tehran's two chief negotiators, according to a New York Times report confirmed by two US officials. The warnings were relayed through intermediary governments.

Washington purportedly feared that Israel intended to kill Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who lead Iran's side in the talks. Unable to order its ally to stand down, the US regime instead warned its adversary.

Earlier in the conflict, Israeli strikes reportedly killed Ali Larijani and Kamal Kharazi, pragmatic figures involved in talks that Washington had hoped to negotiate with. The current negotiators are those who survived those attacks.

Ghalibaf himself has allegedly survived two Israeli assassination attempts: one during the 12-day war in June 2025 and another this year when Israel struck a bunker where senior officials were meeting.

Conflict-resolution scholars describe actors who seek to destroy a peace process as "spoilers." Israel is seen as an external spoiler, benefiting from the collapse of talks. The Israeli regime's narrative of victory is threatened by a durable agreement.

US Vice President JD Vance reportedly told reporters that if he sat in Israel's cabinet, he "might not be attacking the only powerful ally" it has left, after Israeli ministers criticized the memorandum.

Third parties such as Pakistan and Qatar have been used to guarantee the safety of Iranian negotiators. Pakistani fighter jets escorted the delegation's planes to talks in Islamabad.

The memorandum's key achievement is that the feared Israeli operation did not take place, the negotiators remained alive, and the diplomatic channel stayed open. This limited success was earned not by managing an enemy, but by managing a friend.

Source: www.aljazeera.com