Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the report as "fake news."

In a post on X, Netanyahu said: "As usual, The New York Times' latest story about Israel and the Iranian negotiators is fake news."

"It is a complete fabrication of reality," he added.

According to The New York Times, current and former U.S. officials said American authorities believed Israel might have been considering plans to assassinate two of Iran's top officials during negotiations aimed at securing an interim agreement with Tehran earlier this year.

The report said U.S. concerns centred on Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, whose potential targeting could have derailed the delicate diplomatic process.

According to the newspaper, killing senior Iranian leaders had been part of Israel's broader wartime strategy. However, American officials reportedly feared that any attempt to assassinate Araghchi or Ghalibaf during the negotiations, which began in April, would have collapsed the talks and reignited the conflict.

The report added that the United States asked several countries in the region to warn Iran about the possibility that the two senior officials could be targeted, in an effort to preserve the negotiations.

U.S. officials acknowledged, according to The New York Times, that during the height of the conflict the two Iranian leaders could have been viewed by Israel as legitimate wartime targets. However, once negotiations gained momentum, Washington reportedly believed any such action would jeopardise diplomatic efforts and escalate hostilities.

Israel has categorically denied the report, calling it an inaccurate account of events.