Published on 03/07/2026 - 17:21 GMT+2

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has confirmed media reports that officials in Washington believe Israel may have tried to kill Iran's top negotiators in an attempt to derail ceasefire talks with the United States that were to take place in Pakistan.

The talks in Islamabad, mediated in part by US Vice President JD Vance, led to the framework deal Iran and the US signed on 17 June to halt their war.

The two countries are now in a 60-day extended ceasefire meant to allow for negotiating sides to produce a final agreement.

The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that US concern about threats to Araghchi and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf spiked during the April negotiations, to the point that Washington asked regional allies to warn Tehran that Israel could target the two officials.

Washington and Tehran have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980 and typically communicate through intermediaries, which is why the US warning was relayed through regional allies rather than sent directly.

The Wall Street Journal also reported in March that Israel may have had Araghchi and Ghalibaf on a target list during Israel's campaign of strikes against senior Iranian officials, but that Israel later temporarily removed them from the list.

In an interview with Iranian state television on Friday, Araghchi said he had been aware of the threat. Asked why he had travelled to Pakistan regardless, he said, "We are Iranians, we don't fear death for our nation."

"Cowards attack from behind. We went for regional peace. Now you see who the real cancer is," Araghchi added.

The New York Times reported that Iran took extraordinary security measures to protect its negotiators at the time.

When Ghalibaf travelled to Islamabad to meet Vance, Pakistani fighter jets escorted the Iranian delegation's aircraft from the Iranian border to Islamabad and back, according to the report.

On the return leg, the Iranian aircraft made an emergency landing in Mashhad amid an Israeli military threat, the report said, which prompted Ghalibaf's delegation to continue to Tehran by car.

The Iran war began on 28 February, when US-Israeli strikes on Tehran resulted in the deaths of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior officials.

The US and Israeli governments have not directly addressed the assassination plot allegations.