Iran President alleges Israeli assassination attempt in interview with Tucker Carlson
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has accused Israel of attempting to assassinate him.
Pezeshkian made the allegation in a high-profile interview with American conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
“They did try, yes. They acted accordingly, but they failed,” Pezeshkian said when asked directly by Carlson if he believed Israel had made an attempt on his life.
The Iranian leader did not provide a date for the alleged attempt, nor did he confirm whether it was linked to Israel’s recent 12-day aerial offensive against Iran, which took place last month amid heightened tensions between the two regional adversaries.
Pressed on how he was certain of Israel’s involvement, Pezeshkian responded: “Of course, it was not the United States that was behind the attempt on my life. It was Israel.”
According to a Persian-to-English translation provided during the interview, he claimed that the attackers had targeted a meeting location based on insider intelligence.
“I was in a meeting, but thanks to the intelligence by the spies that they had, they tried to bombard the area in which we were holding that meeting,” he added, without elaborating on the outcome or casualties.
The explosive allegation comes at a time of escalating geopolitical uncertainty and follows a series of covert operations and direct military engagements between the two nations over the past year.
In the same interview, Pezeshkian struck a more conciliatory tone on Iran’s nuclear stance, expressing openness to diplomacy, with caveats.
“We see no problem in reentering the negotiations,” he said, referring to nuclear talks with the United States and other global powers.
“There is a condition for restarting the talks. How are we going to trust the United States again?
“We reentered 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?” he added.
The remarks signal Iran’s continued skepticism about the intentions of Western allies, particularly in light of its long-standing contention that Israel has a disproportionate influence on US foreign policy in the Middle East.
Iran President alleges Israeli assassination attempt in interview with Tucker Carlson
