After Iran’s brief ceasefire with Israel, Ayatollah Khamenei has spoken out.
In the wake of escalating tensions with Israel, the US, and Iran, Khamenei has apparently been hiding out in a bunker, but he has now publicly announced this on social media.
The supreme leader described the US’ June 21 attacks on Israel’s nuclear sites as a failure and declared victory over the country in the message.
He penned on Twitter today (June 26): “My congratulations on our dear Iran’s victory over the US regime.”
“The US regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. It entered the war in an effort to save that regime but achieved nothing.”
Khamenei added in a follow-up tweet: “The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face. It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region.”
Iran responded to the incident on Saturday night by ordering airstrikes on the Qatar air base on Monday, June 23. There are believed to be no casualties.
In a recent broadcast statement, Khamenei also spoke to Iranian civilians, calling President Trump’s remarks regarding the US attack “unusually exaggerated” and stating that Operation Midnight Hammer “failed to achieve anything significant,” according to the BBC.
Following news that the United States’ strike on Iran was not as successful as Trump claimed, the supreme leader made these remarks.
CNN reported earlier this week that it had received a preliminary Defence Intelligence Agency assessment stating that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile had not been destroyed.
Trump proceeded to slam the reports, writing on Truth Social: “FAKE NEWS CNN, TOGETHER WITH THE FAILING NEW YORK TIMES, HAVE TEAMED UP IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEMEAN ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRIKES IN HISTORY.”
He added: “THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED! BOTH THE TIMES AND CNN ARE GETTING SLAMMED BY THE PUBLIC!”
Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary for the White House, denied the accusations and maintained that they were “flat-out wrong.”
“The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program,” Leavitt said.
“Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
