Ayatollah Khamenei has spoken out after a brief ceasefire between Iran and Israel ended.
Recent tensions with Iran, the US, and Israel led Khamenei to reportedly take refuge in a bunker. He has now resurfaced with a public message on social media.
The supreme leader declared victory over Israel and criticized the US for what he described as unsuccessful attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites on June 21.
On Twitter today (June 26), he wrote: “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.”
In another tweet, Khamenei stated: “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 conducted air strikes on the Qatar base on Monday (June 23) in retaliation for the prior attack. Reports indicate that there were no casualties.
In a recent televised address, Khamenei criticized President Trump’s remarks on the US attack, calling them ‘unusually exaggerated’, as reported by the BBC. He further claimed that Operation Midnight Hammer ‘failed to achieve anything significant’.
These statements follow reports suggesting that the US attack on Iran was not as successful as Trump claimed.
CNN reported earlier this week that it obtained an initial assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency indicating Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remained intact.
Trump dismissed these reports, stating 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 further added: “THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED! BOTH THE TIMES AND CNN ARE GETTING SLAMMED BY THE PUBLIC!”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also disputed the reports, describing them as ‘flat-out wrong’.
Leavitt continued: “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.”
“Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”