On March 3 Israel’s prime minister’s office denied US media reports that Israel
planned to assassinate senior Iranian negotiators, calling the accounts false
and fabricated. The New York Times reported on March 2 that US officials had
earlier this year indirectly warned Iranian foreign ministry official Abbas
Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf that Israel might
attempt to target them. US officials feared such an attempt could derail
ceasefire talks and spark new conflict, and asked regional partners to pass the
warning to Tehran. The report said Araghchi and Ghalibaf were listed as targets
after a Feb. 28 US-Israel strike on Iran, and that two senior Iranian
Negotiators involved in the talks had previously been killed in Israeli strikes.
