Latest news with #assassination attempt
Times of Oman
6 days ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Iran's Prez Pezeshkian sustained minor leg injuries while escaping Israeli attack
Tehran: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian was lightly injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council in Tehran on June 15, Al Jazeera reported, citing a senior Iranian official statement. Pezeshkian sustained minor leg injuries and was forced to escape through an emergency exit. Further, the official confirmed that the assassination attempt targeted the heads of the three branches of government in an effort to overthrow them. "This attempt will not pass without Israel paying a price," he said. According to Al Jazeera, the Israeli strike targeted a high-level meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council in western Tehran, where President Masoud Pezeshkian and the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government, along with other senior officials, were in attendance. The building's entrances and exits were hit by six missiles to block escape routes and cut off air flow. Electricity was severed following the explosions, but Iranian officials managed to escape through a pre-designated emergency hatch, including the president, who is said to have sustained minor leg injuries while evacuating, as per Al Jazeera. The news agency said authorities launched an investigation into the possible presence of Israeli spies, given the accuracy of the intelligence the "enemy" possessed. Meanwhile, in an interview last week with US media figure Tucker Carlson, Pezeshkian said Israel tried to assassinate him. "They did try, yes ... but they failed," he said. "It was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel. I was in a meeting... They tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting." The comments come less than a month after Israel launched its unprecedented June 13 bombing campaign against Iran, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists. According to Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, at least 1,060 people were killed in Iran during the conflict. The Israeli attacks drew waves of retaliatory drone and missile fire, killing 28 people in Israel, according to authorities.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wounded Iranian president forced to escape through emergency hatch during Israeli air strike
Iran's president was injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council, Tehran has revealed. Masoud Pezeshkian was wounded in the leg and forced to escape through an emergency hatch after Israel struck the meeting in Tehran with six missiles during June's 12-day war. The revelation, made by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) affiliated Fars news agency, confirms the claims made by Mr Pezeshkian during a recent interview that Israel tried to assassinate him. According to Fars, Mr Pezeshkian, 70, sustained a leg injury after the strike on June 16 where others in attendance included parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and judiciary chief Mohseni Ejei. The agency said the attack bore similarities to the strike that targeted the head of Iran's biggest regional proxy, Hezbollah, last year, which succeeded in killing long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut. 'The attack occurred before noon on Monday, June 16, while a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council was being held with the heads of the three branches of government and other senior officials in the lower floors of a building in western Tehran,' the report said. 'The attackers targeted the building's entrances and exits by firing six bombs or missiles to block escape routes and cut off air flow.' Fars also reported that others also had been injured in the attack. It stated that 'some officials, including the president, suffered minor injuries to their legs while leaving', and added that they escaped through 'an emergency hatch that had been planned in advance'. 'After the explosions, the electricity on the floor was cut off,' it added. Investigations are now under way to find a possible insider because of the precise nature of the attack. Iran has arrested more than 700 people in the wake of the war on charges of collaborating with Israel, and has attempted to push through a new emergency spy law that aims to impose harsher penalties, including the death penalty. Though Fars did not detail the location of the strike, opposition outlet Iran International reported an Israeli air strike against an area near Shahrak-e Gharb in western Tehran on June 16. Mohsen Rezaei, an IRGC general, also told state TV that Israel 'struck six points at the location where the Supreme National Security Council was meeting, but not the slightest harm was done to any of its members'. However, in an interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson, Mr Pezeshkian accused Israel of trying to assassinate him, though had not admitted to having being injured. 'They did try [to assassinate me], acted accordingly, but they failed,' he said. The interview drew massive criticism from MPs in Iran, with 24 joining together in a public letter accusing the president of undermining national security. They said his openness to renewed negotiations with the United States in spite of the American strikes on three key nuclear facilities, and his willingness to co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has since been expelled from the country, showed weakness. 'From a national security standpoint, such messaging risks inviting further aggression,' the MPs wrote. 'If before June 12 there were diverse views on resisting American overreach, this war generated rare unity around the necessity of confronting the United States and its proxy, the Zionist regime,' they added. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Iranian president forced to escape through emergency hatch during Israeli air strike
Iran's president was injured in an Israeli air strike targeting a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council, Tehran has revealed. Masoud Pezeshkian was wounded in the leg and forced to escape through an emergency hatch after Israel struck the meeting in Tehran with six missiles during June's 12-day war. The revelation, which was made in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) affiliated Fars news agency, confirms the claims made by Mr Pezeshkian during a recent interview that Israel tried to assassinate him. According to Fars, Mr Pezeshkian, 70, sustained a leg injury after the strike on June 16 where others in attendance included parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and judiciary chief Mohseni Ejei. The agency said the attack bore similarities to the strike that targeted the head of Iran's biggest regional proxy, Hezbollah, last year, which succeeded in killing long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut. 'The attack occurred before noon on Monday, June 16, while a meeting of the Supreme National Security Council was being held with the heads of the three branches of government and other senior officials in the lower floors of a building in western Tehran,' the report said. 'The attackers targeted the building's entrances and exits by firing six bombs or missiles to block escape routes and cut off air flow.' Fars also reported that in addition to the president, others had been injured in the attack. It stated that 'some officials, including the president, suffered minor injuries to their legs while leaving', and added that they escaped through 'an emergency hatch that had been planned in advance'. 'After the explosions, the electricity on the floor was cut off,' it added. Investigations are now underway to find a possible insider because of the precise nature of the attack. Iran has arrested more than 700 people in the wake of the war on charges of collaborating with Israel, and has attempted to push through a new emergency spy law that aims to impose harsher penalties, including the death penalty. Though Fars did not detail the location of the strike, opposition outlet Iran International reported an Israeli air strike against an area near Shahrak-e Gharb in western Tehran on June 16. Mohsen Rezaei, an IRGC general, also told state TV that Israel 'struck six points at the location where the Supreme National Security Council was meeting, but not the slightest harm was done to any of its members'. However, in an interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson, Mr Pezeshkian accused Israel of trying to assassinate him, though had not admitted to having being injured. 'They did try [to assassinate me], acted accordingly, but they failed,' he said. The interview drew massive criticism from MPs in Iran, with 24 joining together in a public letter accusing the president of undermining national security. They said his openness to renewed negotiations with the United States in spite of the American strikes on three key nuclear facilities, and his willingness to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has since been expelled from the country, showed weakness. 'From a national security standpoint, such messaging risks inviting further aggression,' the MPs wrote. 'If before June 12 there were diverse views on resisting American overreach, this war generated rare unity around the necessity of confronting the United States and its proxy, the Zionist regime,' they added.
