Tehran [Iran], July 14: Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian narrowly escaped being killed during the 12-day war with Israel, according to an Iranian media report.
The Iranian news agency Fars reported that Israel's air force bombed a National Security Council building complex on June 16, three days after the war began.
Following the attack, the power went out, the report said. The participants of the crisis meeting managed to get to safety but some of them, including Pezeshkian, sustained leg injuries.
The Security Council deals with issues of defence and the protection of state ideology. Chaired by the president, the powerful body has around a dozen members, including several ministers and generals.
In an interview with US talk show host Tucker Carlson about a week ago, Pezeshkian had already mentioned the attempt to assassinate him, citing a possible intelligence leak. There is speculation about the infiltration of an agent, according to Fars.
Meanwhile, a video was shared in Iranian media purportedly showing bombings on a mountainside in the west of Tehran.
If that is the case, "it would suggest that Israel intended to take out the entire government, not just the military leadership," analyst Gregory Brew of the Eurasia Group said in a post on X.
He also said he thought that Israel would try again if hostilities resume.
Israel began a war against Iran on June 13, attacking targets nationwide including nuclear facilities and also killing top scientists and military leaders.
Iran's armed forces responded with missile attacks. Both countries recorded casualties including civilians.
Just over a week after the war began, Washington intervened and bombed three of Iran's most important nuclear sites. After 12 days of attacks, a ceasefire was unexpectedly announced.
Source: Qatar Tribune