Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared “victory” over Israel in his first message to the public since a US-brokered cease-fire took effect two days ago.
Khamenei, 86, was mostly absent from the public eye during the 12-day war with Israel, issuing only two video messages, with the second on June 19 widely believed to have been recorded in a bunker given the poor production quality.
In his new video message, which had noticeably better audio quality than the last one, Khamenei congratulated Iranians on what he described as a “victory over the fake Zionist regime,” asserting that Israel had been “almost crippled and crushed under the blows of the Islamic republic.”
Referring to the US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, he said the "Americans couldn't do anything important" and accused the United States of "exaggerating" the damage to "hide the truth."
US officials have spoken of "monumental damage" inflicted on Iran's main nuclear facilities, with President Donald Trump saying that "obliteration is an accurate term" to be used to describe the effects of US bombing of the sites.
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While a preliminary US intelligence report has cast some doubt on the extent of the damage to three of Iran's main nuclear facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said the US bombing likely resulted in "very significant" damage to the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, which is dug into a mountain in central Iran.
Some analysts have said that Khamenei's lack of visibility signals unprecedented uncertainty about the future of Iran's leadership, prompting speculation about the country's internal stability and the risk of wider repercussions in the Middle East.
Iran managed to deliver strong retaliatory strikes that killed over 20 people according to Israeli officials, but Israel killed dozens of key senior Iranian military and scientific personnel, while also hitting many key military sites. Iranian authorities say more than 600 people were killed in Israeli attacks. Neither death toll has been independently verified.
Despite the higher number of reported Iranian deaths, the Iranian supreme leader -- who appeared tired and spoke haltingly at times -- insisted that Iran had scored a victory over the United States, claiming the Americans joined the conflict to help ensure Israel’s survival.
He said the United States had “gained nothing from this war” and framed Iran’s retaliatory strike against the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a “hard slap.”
Khamenei also referenced US President Donald Trump’s calls for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” during the course of the war, saying Iran would “never” surrender.
He said Trump's demands showed that Iran’s “enemies” use its nuclear and missile programs as “excuses” to get Tehran to surrender.
