Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was reportedly slightly injured during a covert Israeli airstrike on a secret underground facility in Tehran last month, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency, which is closely linked to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The report, which has not been independently verified, claims that on 16 June, six bombs targeted both the access points and ventilation systems of a heavily fortified underground bunker in northwestern Tehran, where Pezeshkian was attending an emergency session of the Supreme National Security Council — Iran’s top decision-making body after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to the Fars report, the president sustained leg injuries while escaping through an emergency shaft with other officials after ventilation systems failed, and electricity was cut off due to the bombing. Israeli officials have not commented on the incident.
The revelation follows a series of strikes during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in mid-June. Social media footage from that period showed intense bombardments against mountainous areas near Tehran, which now appear to coincide with the reported strike on the underground command facility.
President Pezeshkian last week accused Israel of attempting to assassinate him, a claim dismissed by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said regime change was not a goal of the operation. Israel has admitted, however, that Ayatollah Khamenei was among its intended targets. Reports suggest that Khamenei was moved to a secure, undisclosed location shortly before the strikes intensified.
The strike on June 13 marked the opening salvo in Israel’s surprise offensive against Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. Israel stated that the attacks were aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran, in turn, launched aerial attacks on Israel and continues to maintain that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
On June 22, the conflict escalated further when the U.S. Air Force and Navy launched air and missile strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, with President Donald Trump later declaring that the facilities had been “obliterated.” However, some U.S. intelligence agencies have reportedly taken a more cautious stance on the effectiveness of the strikes.
The attack on the Tehran bunker raises serious questions about how Israel was able to obtain precise intelligence on the whereabouts of Iran’s senior leadership and secret facilities. Iranian authorities are reportedly investigating possible internal infiltration by Israeli agents.
As tensions remain high in the aftermath of one of the most aggressive Israeli offensives in recent history, the incident marks a dramatic turn in the regional conflict—highlighting the growing vulnerabilities even at the highest levels of Iran’s leadership.