Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Injured in Israeli Airstrike During Security Council Meeting

Israeli Airstrike Rattles Iran’s Top Leadership

On June 16, what was supposed to be a routine meeting inside Iran’s Supreme National Security Council quickly turned into chaos. Six blasts rocked the grounds in western Tehran where the council was meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian present. The attack ripped through the building’s entry and exit points, sending everyone scrambling for safety as the power suddenly went out. It wasn’t random — the strike was part of a larger Israeli operation aimed at Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. This was the fourth straight day of Israel’s high-stakes campaign and tensions were boiling.

President Pezeshkian wasn’t the only big name in the room. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i were there too. As missiles slammed into their escape routes, panic set in. People tried to force their way through emergency hatches in the darkness, and that's where Pezeshkian and several others ended up with leg injuries. It could have been far worse, but the swift reaction of security teams and sheer luck meant the country’s top leaders survived with mostly minor wounds.

Escape Amid Rising Tensions

The timing couldn’t have been more intense. Israel’s campaign against Iran wasn’t just about military bluster — it was a calculated effort to cripple Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. By targeting the security council meeting, Israel sent a message that Iranian leadership itself was now in the crosshairs. Official Iranian sources claim the airstrike was a direct assassination attempt on President Pezeshkian. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Pezeshkian accused Israeli intelligence of pinpointing their meeting spot, hinting that Israeli Mossad had managed to compromise Iranian security protocols or gain inside information.

The attack left a mark not just physically but politically. The underground chambers were supposed to be secure from any outside threat. Now it was clear that not even the most protected space was off-limits.

This wasn’t a one-off strike either. Just days after the airstrike on Tehran’s west side, the U.S. launched its own attacks against Iranian nuclear facilities. These back-to-back strikes ramped up fears that an all-out war could erupt — but instead, it tipped the scales in favor of a diplomatic ceasefire brokered by the U.S. The uneasy truce put an end to this round of direct attacks, but it left scars both in terms of security and trust at the top of Iran’s leadership.

The Iranian state media didn’t waste time drawing connections — hinting this operation resembled Israel’s suspected role in the September assassination of Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah. For many in Tehran’s corridors of power, the airstrike marked a new era of vulnerability.