Did Israel Plot Iranian President's Assassination? Report Says Pezeshkian Sustained Injuries During War
Israel hasn't commented, but tensions escalated after it accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, leading to retaliatory attacks.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sustained minor injuries during one of Israel’s strikes on Iranian soil last month, according to reports emerging from inside Iran.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, which maintains close ties to the Revolutionary Guard, revealed that on 16 June, six bombs were detonated around access points to a clandestine underground facility in Tehran. At the time, Pezeshkian was attending an emergency session of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s highest security body after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
As explosions shook the facility, Pezeshkian reportedly suffered leg injuries while fleeing through an emergency shaft alongside other officials. Iranian authorities are now said to be pursuing leads suggesting possible infiltration by Israeli agents.
The Fars report has not been independently verified, and Israel has so far refrained from commenting publicly on the alleged operation.
Footage shared on social media during the 12-day conflict captured repeated strikes against a mountainside in north-west Tehran. It has now surfaced that, on the fourth day of the war, those attacks were directed at the underground compound believed to be housing Iran’s top leadership.
According to Fars, Israeli strikes disabled all six entrances and exits to the facility, severed ventilation systems, and plunged the complex into darkness by cutting its electricity supply. Despite the chaos, Pezeshkian managed to escape unharmed beyond his minor injuries.
Tensions between the long-standing regional foes soared in mid-June after Israel launched a surprise assault on Iranian nuclear and military sites. On 13 June, Israel declared it was acting to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons—a charge Iran steadfastly denies, insisting its uranium enrichment programme serves only peaceful purposes.
In retaliation, Iran mounted aerial attacks against Israel, escalating fears of a broader conflict. The war’s opening salvo dealt a heavy blow to Iran’s security apparatus, with Israel reportedly eliminating several senior commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the military. Iranian officials later conceded that the attacks caught them entirely off guard, leading to a period of paralysis in decision-making that lasted at least 24 hours.
Adding further intrigue, Israeli officials acknowledged that Khamenei himself was a target but said they lost track of him once he was moved to a secure, undisclosed location, largely cut off from external communications.
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