Tehran: Israeli occupation warplanes targeted top Iranian officials who were holding a secret underground meeting last June, wounding President Masud Pezeshkian, the Iranian news agency Fars reported on Sunday. Pezeshkian was wounded in the leg while he was hurrying out of the meeting venue, the lower floors of the Supreme National Security Council, located in western Tehran. The June 25 meeting was attended by "heads of the three authorities and senior officials."
According to Kuwait News Agency, the air strike was carried out with bunker buster bombs and missiles that targeted the building exits to block air inflow, reminiscent of a previous attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut where the former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah reportedly died due to lack of oxygen in a targeted basement. Fars reported that the June attack caused a power outage at the building; however, the Iranian leaders managed to leave via emergency exits, with several officials sustaining minor injuries to their feet.
The news agency indicated that the Israeli attack on the clandestine meeting prompted Iranian authorities to launch investigations to determine whether agents aided the Israelis in pinpointing the target. Israeli occupation warplanes and drones had earlier conducted wide-scale strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities on June 13, leading to an Iranian missile retaliation.
The Israeli attacks also targeted nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz, and Esfahan. These targets were struck by Israeli military aircraft as well as advanced US bombers. A ceasefire was declared on June 14 following 12 days of tit-for-tat attacks.