According to Jafar Ghaempanah, President Massoud Pezeshkian and other officials were inside the meeting venue when several explosions caused the building to fill with dust and led to a power outage.
The participants were split into smaller groups to locate a safe exit.
President Pezeshkian, who could barely see the light, reportedly only “the size of two palms,” due to the debris, cleared debris to open a passage.
After finding an exit, he helped others escape as well, he noted, adding the group then boarded a damaged vehicle and returned to work shortly after.
Ghaempanah stated that the site was hit two more times following their evacuation. Tragically, several rescue personnel were killed in the subsequent attacks.
The incident marks one of the most direct and high-risk assaults on Iran’s top tier officials during the escalation that started by the Israeli aggression on June 13.