Israel has reportedly removed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf from its hit list after Pakistan asked the US not to target them, according to Reuters news agency, citing a source in Islamabad with knowledge of the matter.
Araghchi has led Iran's delegation in nuclear talks with the US and is one of Iran's most experienced diplomats, while Ghalibaf is reportedly seen by some in the White House as a viable partner.
"The Israelis had their coordinates and wanted to eliminate them, we told the US that if they are also eliminated, then there is no one else to talk to, so the US asked the Israelis to withdraw," the Pakistani source was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the claim, quoted US officials as saying that the two Iranian men were removed from US and Israeli strike lists for up to four or five days, as Donald Trump tries to reopen negotiations with Iran.
The report made no mention of any Pakistani involvement.
A number of senior Iranian officials have been killed by Israel since the start of the current war, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and security chief Ali Larijani.
Israel has vowed to continue pursuing Iran's leaders, while Trump has acknowledged that many potential interlocutors, including negotiators involved in pre-war talks, have been killed in attacks.
"We killed all their leadership, and then they met to elect new leaders, and we killed them all," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"And now we have a new group, and we can easily do that, but let's see how they turn out."