Iranian president injured in Israeli airstrike on secret bunker during June war, state media reveals
By isabelle // 2025-07-14
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  • Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a secret Tehran bunker during a high-level security meeting.
  • The June 16 attack used six precision bombs to cut power and escape routes, forcing Pezeshkian to flee through an emergency shaft.
  • Israel’s strike aimed to decapitate Iran’s leadership, mirroring past high-value assassinations like Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah.
  • The attack occurred during a 12-day war, with Israel targeting nuclear sites and IRGC officials, while Iran retaliated with drone strikes.
  • Tehran has since purged alleged spies, executing informants, as tensions remain dangerously high despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
Iranian state media has confirmed that President Masoud Pezeshkian was injured during an Israeli airstrike last month, exposing yet another high-stakes assassination attempt in the shadow war between Tehran and Jerusalem. According to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, the June 16 attack targeted a secret underground facility in western Tehran where Pezeshkian was meeting with top security officials. The strike, which involved six precision bombs, severed power and forced the president and his aides to flee through an emergency shaft, leaving Pezeshkian with minor leg injuries. The revelation confirms longstanding suspicions about Israel’s aggressive campaign to dismantle Iran’s nuclear ambitions and destabilize its leadership. The attack occurred during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, a brutal exchange that ended only after U.S. intervention brokered a ceasefire on June 24. But the details now emerging paint a far more dangerous picture. Israel wasn’t just targeting military infrastructure; it was allegedly hunting Iran’s top decision-makers in a calculated decapitation attempt.

A precision strike on Iran’s leadership

Fars, which is managed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that the bombs struck all six access points to the underground bunker, deliberately cutting off escape routes and ventilation. The facility housed an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the regime’s most powerful decision-making body outside of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself. The blasts cut power to the facility, according to Fars, which compelled the president to escape through an emergency shaft; he injured his leg trying to get away. The outlet compared the operation to Israel’s 2024 assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, suggesting a well-rehearsed playbook for eliminating high-value targets. Pezeshkian himself confirmed the attempt in an interview with Tucker Carlson last week. “They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” he said. “I was in a meeting. We were discussing the ways to move forward, but thanks to the intelligence by the spies that they had, they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting.”

Israel’s war on Iran’s nuclear program

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly admitted ordering strikes to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. “This attempt will not pass without Israel paying a price,” an unnamed senior Iranian official told Al Jazeera, vowing retaliation. The U.S. also joined the offensive, launching stealth attacks on three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites on June 22. While Tehran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, Israel and Western intelligence agencies argue otherwise, pointing to Iran’s history of covert uranium enrichment and ballistic missile development. The 12-day war saw Israel eliminate multiple senior IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists, further crippling Iran’s military and scientific infrastructure. But the strike on Pezeshkian’s bunker marks a dramatic escalation: a direct attempt to stunt Iran’s civilian leadership. Since the attack, Tehran has launched a sweeping espionage purge, arresting over 700 people and executing at least six alleged Israeli informants, according to human rights groups. The regime is reportedly investigating how Israeli intelligence pinpointed the bunker’s location, raising fears of moles within Iran’s security apparatus. The conflict’s toll was devastating. Iranian state media claims 1,060 citizens were killed, while Israel reported 28 deaths from retaliatory drone and missile strikes. Yet the most alarming takeaway is the war’s proximity to a full-blown regional catastrophe. Had Pezeshkian been killed, Iran’s response could have triggered an uncontrollable spiral. The U.S.-brokered ceasefire halted hostilities, but tensions remain at a boiling point. Israel’s willingness to strike at the heart of Iran’s leadership—and America’s participation in bombing nuclear sites—signals a dangerous new phase in the confrontation. Sources for this article include: RT.com FoxNews.com NYPost.com AlJazeera.com
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