Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, made a rare public appearance Thursday, claiming an unsubstantiated triumph over Israel and boasting that his regime had “delivered a hand slap to America’s face.” This marked his first public speech since Israeli and U.S. forces devastated key elements of Iran’s nuclear program, an operation President Trump labeled “total obliteration.”
Despite Iran’s massive losses, including the deaths of more than a dozen senior nuclear scientists and the destruction of three major uranium enrichment facilities, Khamenei insisted on calling the 12-day conflict a victory.
“The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America’s face,” Khamenei declared, making claims that contradict the outcomes on the ground.
The Supreme Leader had remained hidden from the public eye since June 13, the day Israel initiated Operation Rising Lion, a campaign involving a barrage of missile strikes around Tehran and a successful sabotage mission that crippled both air defense and missile systems.
His appearance came nearly a week after President Trump ordered an aggressive U.S. offensive: seven B-2 bombers dropped powerful bunker-buster bombs on Fordow, an underground nuclear site, while U.S. submarines armed with nuclear capability targeted Iran’s Natanz and Isfahan facilities with cruise missiles.
“US hit nuclear sites but couldn’t achieve much,” Khamenei said in his televised remarks, before taking a swipe at the American president.
“US President Trump needed to do showmanship,” he said.
In a post on X, Khamenei painted a drastically different picture of the war’s outcome. “With all that commotion and all those claims, the Zionist regime was practically knocked out and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” he wrote, describing events that never materialized on the battlefield.
Khamenei’s speech came just days after a cease-fire was reached between Iran and Israel. Trump had announced the agreement Monday night, mere hours before Israel said it was targeted by a missile salvo from Iran. That action led the 79-year-old president to sharply criticize both sides.
In response, Israel scrambled jets toward Iranian airspace but called off the mission.
“ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social early Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters before heading to the NATO summit, Trump didn’t hold back in assigning blame for the truce’s shaky start.
“I think they both violated it,” Trump said, pointing to Israel’s vow to relaunch attacks and accusing Iran of a “blatant violation” of the cease-fire.
Despite the early turbulence, the cease-fire has largely held, while American and Qatari diplomats continue pushing for renewed talks aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
{Matzav.com}