Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi survives assassination attempt, claims Tehran

An attempt to assassinate Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran was reportedly foiled by the Iranian intelligence services. Mohammad Hossein Rangbaran, a senior official and adviser to the Foreign Ministry made the claims in a post on X. Rangbaran described the attack as a potentially devastating attack and credited the “unknown soldiers of the homeland” - Iran’s intelligence and security operatives - for foiling the attempt.

“If it were not for the security measures of the unknown soldiers of the homeland, perhaps a few days ago the great Israeli conspiracy against him would have been carried out in Tehran, which, thank God, failed,” Rangbaran wrote, as reported by Tasnim News Agency.

Notably, the claimed assassination attempt on Araghchi comes at a time he is preparing for a high-stakes nuclear talks with European leaders in Geneva and the Israel-Iran war.

According to Rangbaran, the scheduled meeting will be held as planned despite such a threat still looming.

“Yes, there certainly was and still is such a threat. Nevertheless, Seyed Abbas Araqchi considers himself a soldier of the motherland more than the head of the diplomatic service," said Rangbaran

Iran's Arak nuke facility hit

Menawhile, Israel attacked Iran's heavy water nuclear facilities in Arak and Khondab located in the Markazi Province on Thursday (June 19).

An image from June 18 shows an erect structure with no visible damage, and another snapshot from June 19 shows destruction around the site. The Israeli military confirmed that they targeted the site near Iran's central city, which also included a partially-built heavy-water research reactor.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said there is no leak of any kind from the site and no casualties.

The facility of heavy-water reactors produces plutonium, the said material can also be used to make the core of an atomic bomb, much like enriched uranium.