Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared a resounding victory over Israel and the United States following a ceasefire that ended the recent Iran-Israel war.
He made this known In his first public remarks after the conflict which saw the United States bomb three nuclear sites in Iran.
Speaking in a pre-recorded message aired by state television, Khamenei praised what he called Iran’s “triumph over the fake Zionist regime,” claiming that Israel was left reeling from the confrontation.
“Despite all the noise and their exaggerated claims, the Zionist regime was nearly obliterated and crushed under the powerful blows of the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
The Iranian leader accused the United States of entering the conflict out of desperation to prevent Israel’s collapse.
“The Americans stepped in because they saw that without their intervention, the Zionist regime would be annihilated. Still, they came out of this war empty-handed,” he added.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry has refused to confirm whether a meeting with the United States on the nuclear file is scheduled for next week, despite President Donald Trump telling reporters that such talks are planned.
“We have no comment on the contradictory statements coming out of Washington,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said during a press briefing in Tehran.
“Just days before our supposed meeting in Muscat, they gave Israel the green light to attack us. How can trust exist in such conditions?”, he added.
At the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Trump stated that he may engage with Iran next week over a potential nuclear agreement but downplayed the importance of any deal.
“I don’t know if we’ll sign an agreement. I don’t think it’s that necessary,” Trump said, repeating his claim that the U.S. had already dismantled Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“They fought a war, and now they go back to their world,” he added.
Despite Trump’s assertions, early intelligence reports suggest Iran’s nuclear infrastructure suffered significant but not total damage.
Confirming the impact, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said the Fordow enrichment facility in Iran is no longer operational following U.S. airstrikes.
“Satellite imagery shows that the centrifuges have stopped working, likely due to vibration and structural damage from the bombing,” Grossi told France’s Radio International.
“The targeted area aligns with the enrichment hall — it was a direct hit,” he added.
In response to U.S. attacks Iran’s parliament voted to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
An Iranian spokesperson told Al Jazeera that repeated attacks by Israel and the United States had left the country’s nuclear infrastructure “badly damaged.”