Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, has accused Israel of attempting to assassinate him during the recent 12-day conflict between the two nations.
In a televised interview published Monday with American media personality Tucker Carlson, Pezeshkian directly blamed Israel for what he described as a failed attempt on his life.
“They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” Pezeshkian said when asked if he believed Israel had targeted him personally.
The Iranian president claimed the alleged attempt occurred while he was attending a meeting, and suggested the strike was part of Israel’s broader military offensive during the escalation.
“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,” he stated, speaking in Persian with his remarks translated into English.
On June 13, Israel carried out a large-scale air assault against targets inside Iran. The strikes reportedly resulted in the deaths of high-ranking Iranian military personnel and nuclear scientists.
The offensive came just days before a planned round of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington, which had been scheduled for April 12.
Iranian judiciary sources reported that more than 900 people were killed during the fighting. In response, Iran launched a series of missile and drone attacks against Israeli targets, which Israeli authorities said led to the deaths of 28 individuals.
The military campaign included coordinated strikes by Israeli and U.S. forces against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, targeting critical sites such as Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz.
Despite the recent violence, President Pezeshkian signaled a willingness to resume talks over Iran’s nuclear program—though he cautioned that future negotiations would require guarantees.
“We see no problem in re-entering the negotiations,” he told Carlson. “There is a condition … for restarting the talks. How are we going to trust the United States again? We re-entered the negotiations, then how can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us.”
