Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Alleges Assassination Attempt by Israel

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has claimed that Israel attempted to assassinate him during a targeted bombing amid the recent 12-day war between the two countries.

Speaking in an interview with U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson on Monday, Pezeshkian said he was in a meeting when the Israeli strike occurred but survived the attempt. “They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” he told Carlson. “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 war erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a large-scale bombing campaign against Iran, killing senior military leaders and nuclear scientists. The offensive came just days before scheduled nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, which began on April 12.

According to Iran’s judiciary, more than 900 people were killed during the conflict. In response, Iran launched drone and missile strikes that killed 28 people in Israel. The United States also conducted surprise strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz.

Despite the escalation, President Pezeshkian said Iran remains open to resuming nuclear negotiations — but only if trust can be rebuilt. “We see no problem in re-entering the negotiations,” he said. “The condition is trust. How can we know the Israeli regime won’t be given permission again to attack us in the middle of talks?”