As President Donald Trump pursued a negotiated end to the Iran war, senior U.S. officials grew increasingly concerned that Israel could derail the peace process by targeting Tehran's top negotiators, according to multiple reports.
The reports said the Trump administration took the unusual step of using regional intermediaries to warn Iran that Israeli assassination attempts against Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf were possible during ceasefire negotiations.
According to The New York Times and The Washington Post, administration officials feared killing the two senior Iranian officials would eliminate the only remaining interlocutors capable of reaching an agreement with Washington, jeopardizing efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and limit Tehran's nuclear program.
"You kill those folks and you're killing the pragmatists," one U.S. official told the Post, reflecting concerns that eliminating the negotiators would strengthen hard-liners inside Iran rather than advance peace.
The reports highlight growing differences between the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over the ultimate objectives of the conflict.
While both countries initially sought to cripple Iran's military following the outbreak of war in late February, Washington increasingly prioritized a diplomatic settlement after Iran's military suffered major losses.
The Times reported that U.S. officials urged Israel to remove Araghchi and Ghalibaf from assassination target lists as negotiations accelerated this spring.
American officials reportedly also relied on Pakistani and Qatari intermediaries to reassure Tehran while talks continued.
The White House maintained its commitment to diplomacy.
A U.S. official told the Post that "the president wants the peace process to play out," while another cited productive meetings involving special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner in Qatar.
According to both newspapers, Israeli officials viewed the emerging U.S.-Iran framework agreement skeptically, arguing it fell short of Israel's goals of regime change, dismantling Iran's proxy network, and permanently eliminating Tehran's missile capabilities.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the reports.
The reports also detailed extraordinary security measures surrounding the negotiations.
During one trip to Pakistan, Iranian officials reportedly feared Israeli strikes so intensely that Pakistani fighter jets escorted the delegation's aircraft. Iranian intelligence later warned of a possible attack as the delegation returned home, prompting an emergency landing and an hourslong overland journey back to Tehran.
The revelations underscore the delicate balancing act facing the Trump administration as it seeks to preserve a fragile peace agreement while maintaining close ties with Israel, one of America's closest allies in the Middle East.