Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, appeared on state television Wednesday, June 25, for the first time since the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear program over the weekend of June 20, according to The Associated Press. Khamenei, absent from public view since June 19, appeared tired and subdued, saying that the United States would “definitely pay a heavy price” if it attacked again.
Bold claims despite recent strikes
Khamenei addressed the nation in a video message — his first since U.S. warplanes bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. However, it’s unclear when the video message was recorded.
In the message, he boldly claimed that Iran had achieved a “victory” over both Israel and the U.S., despite the recent strikes that U.S. officials claim significantly damaged Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Khamenei’s comments followed President Donald Trump’s announced ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 23, two days after B-2 stealth bombers dropped 30,000-pound bombs on multiple Iranian nuclear sites. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is strictly civilian.
Iran retaliates with missile attack
Iran retaliated against the United States, launching a missile attack on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday. There were no casualties in Monday’s attack, according to U.S. officials.
Khamenei, however, downplayed the impact of the U.S. and Israeli attacks and avoided addressing the status of Iran’s nuclear program. According to a report from The New York Times, his remarks were likely recorded after the missile retaliation, which he claimed caused “some damage.”
Khamenei declares victory
“The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America’s face,” he said in the video, as reported by the AP. He also warned that further attacks from Iran could follow.
“The American regime entered into a direct war because it felt that if it did not enter, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. But it did not gain anything from this war,” Khamenei said.
Trump stands by bombing mission
President Trump continues to defend the B-2 bombing mission, calling it a success that “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites, despite a leaked defense intelligence report suggesting the strikes only delayed the program by a few months.
“The intelligence says we don’t know, it could have been very severe. That’s what the intelligence says, so I guess that’s correct. But I think we can take the ‘we don’t know,’ it was very severe. It was obliteration,” Trump said at the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday.
