Looking back from 2026 to 1967 reveals the extent to which Israel will go to serve its own interests, even when this means harming its ally.
There is a clear pattern of Israeli deception. It started a century ago with the colonial/settler occupation of Palestinian land and continues today.
Attempts to kill the Iranian negotiators: 2026
The New York Times and the Times of Israel (3 July 2026) reported that Israel was planning to kill the two top Iranian negotiators engaged in the peace talks with United States. The targets were Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian Parliamentary speaker and Abbas Araghchi the Foreign Affairs Minister.
The New York Times report, which cites current and former US officials, alleges that some officials believed Israel may have been planning to kill the top Iranian negotiators in the weeks following the 8 April ceasefire that halted fighting in the US–Israel war with Iran. US officials asked counterparts in other countries across the region to warn Tehran that Israel may try to target the two negotiators.
Officials noted that when the war began on 28 February, and as Israel worked its way through killing much of Iran’s senior leadership, including people who able to negotiate with the US, both Araghchi and Ghalibaf could have been legitimate targets.
Once a ceasefire was declared in early April and Araghchi and Ghalibaf began representing Iran’s position in ceasefire negotiations, the US officials said any attempt to kill them would undermine the talks and trigger new fighting. In March, a Pakistani official told Reuters that Israel had taken both Araghchi and Ghalibaf off its hit list, after Pakistan asked Washington not to target them because killing them would mean there would be “no one else to talk to” about negotiating a ceasefire.
According to the New York Times, Ghalibaf narrowly escaped being killed in Israel’s June 2025 war with Iran. He was rescued from the rubble of a building that was struck. An Israeli threat against Ghalibaf emerged again when he was travelling back to Iran from Islamabad following talks with US Vice President JD Vance on 12 April 12. Iran feared an Israeli assassination attempt, sought international guarantees against one, and had Pakistani fighter jets escort the Iranian delegation from the Iranian border to Islamabad, the New York Times said. After two Israeli fighter jets entered Iran’s airspace from Iraq, the Iranian plane made an emergency landing in Mashhad, northeastern Iran. Ghalibaf and the rest of his delegation returned to Tehran by land, an eight-hour drive, the report said, citing Iranian officials.
The crazed Trump in effect confirmed the possible assassination of the Iran negotiators. In late June he said to Iranian officials, “You close it (Hormuz) and you won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your f****g country”. That seems very clear to me.
Netanyahu said all this was “fake news”. Sound familiar!
The Israeli/US attack on Iran: 2026
To get a better understanding of Trump’s ambivalent attitude on attacking Iran, Israel was intercepting US communications. As a result, the US Pentagon’s Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) upgraded the threat posed by Israeli intelligence from “high” to “critical.” Targeted individuals included Steve Witkoff and Elbridge A Colby.
The nuclear deal: 2015
Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to derail the 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) that the Obama team was negotiating. The US found out that Israel had intercepted communications and spied on the international negotiations to gather information and brief friendly US lawmakers against the impending agreement.
In March 2015, Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the US Congress to lobby against the agreement and Israeli officials lobbied Congress to stop the deal.
Netanyahu publicly denounced the deal as a “historic mistake” and warned that it would pave the way for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. He didn’t mention that Israel already had nuclear weapons. To the delight of Netanyahu, Trump later tore up the JCPOA.
Israeli attacks on USS Liberty: 1967
On 30 June 2026, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced legislation to honour the men of the USS Liberty. The Massie resolution recognises the fallen members of the USS Liberty’s crew by name and urges the President to declassify and publicly release all records related to Israel’s unprovoked attack on the ship. Massie said, “59 years ago, on June 8, 1967, Israel attacked the USS Liberty in international waters. 34 Americans were killed, and 174 were wounded by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during this unprovoked attack.”
Jeffrey St Clair reported on the cover-up:
Only hours after the Liberty arrived, it was spotted by the Israeli military…The Liberty was flying a large US flag and was easily recognisable as an American vessel.
Soon more planes came. These were Israeli Mirage III fighters, armed with rockets and machine guns…the fighters opened fire on the defenceless ship with rockets and machine guns. A few minutes later a second wave of planes streaked overhead, French-built Mystere jets, which not only pelted the ship with gunfire but also with napalm bomblets, coating the deck with the flaming jelly. By now, the Liberty was on fire and dozens were wounded and killed.
The Liberty’s radio team tried to issue a distress call but discovered the frequencies had been jammed by the Israeli planes. Finally, an open channel was found and the Liberty …asked the Sixth Fleet to come to the Liberty’s aid…When word reached the Pentagon, Defence Secretary Robert McNamara became irate and ordered…“Tell the Sixth Fleet to get those aircraft back immediately.”…the attack on the Liberty continued…
…16 hours after the attack two US destroyers reached the Liberty…As the wounded were being evacuated, an officer with the Office of Naval Intelligence instructed the men not to talk about their ordeal with the press. Within three weeks, the Navy put out a 700-page report, exonerating the Israelis, claiming the attack had been accidental…Defence Secretary Robert McNamara suggested the whole affair should be forgotten.
“These errors do occur,” McNamara concluded.
This pattern of Israeli deception has been made possible by the power of the Israel lobby in the US to shut down criticism of Israel. That is also true in Australia.
John Menadue is the Founder of Pearls and Irritations and a board member. He was formerly the Editor-in-Chief. John was the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.