Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has declared that the United States "gained no achievements" from its airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, following his first public address since a ceasefire with Israel was agreed upon on Tuesday. In a televised address on Thursday morning, Khamenei stated that the strikes did not "accomplish anything significant" in disrupting Iran's nuclear program, and described the retaliation against an American air base in Qatar as a "heavy blow."
The remarks come as the US continues to assert that the strikes have severely undermined Iran's nuclear ambitions. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that intelligence gathered by the US and Israel indicates the operation "significantly damaged the nuclear program, setting it back by years."
Previously, US President Donald Trump claimed that the strikes against three key nuclear sites inside Iran "totally obliterated" them. However, Trump has responded angrily to reports citing unnamed American officials suggesting the damage may have been less extensive than anticipated. During a Pentagon press conference on Thursday morning, Hegseth asserted that the mission was a "historic success" that had "rendered [Iranian] enrichment facilities inoperable."
During an exchange with reporters, Hegseth also stated that the US was "not aware of any intelligence" indicating that the enriched uranium had been moved out of Fordo - the deeply buried facility that the US targeted with powerful so-called buster bombs - prior to the strikes.
Khamenei, who has been largely out of the public eye since direct conflict with Israel erupted on June 13, released a televised address on Thursday morning, ending a week-long public silence. There has been speculation about Khamenei's whereabouts, as he has been sheltering in a bunker and limiting communications.
Khamenei used Thursday's video address to threaten to carry out more strikes on US bases in the Middle East if Iran is attacked again, and declared victory over both Israel and the US. Khamenei said Trump had "exaggerated" the impact of the nuclear site strikes, adding: "They couldn't accomplish anything and did not achieve their objective."
Referencing the attack on the US air base in Qatar, Khamenei said: "This incident is also repeatable in the future, and should any attack take place, the cost for the enemy and the aggressor will undoubtedly be very high." No one was killed during that attack, which Trump said had been flagged before it was launched. The US claims the base was not damaged.
Direct confrontation between Iran and Israel began on June 13, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that "if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time." A day earlier, the global nuclear watchdog's board of governors declared Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in 20 years.
Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes alone and that it had never sought to develop a nuclear weapon. On Thursday, Iran approved a parliamentary bill calling for an end to the country's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), meaning it is no longer committed to allowing nuclear inspectors into its sites.
Iran's health ministry reported 610 deaths during the 12 days of air attacks, while Israeli authorities reported 28 deaths. The US became directly involved last weekend, striking facilities in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, before Trump mediated a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The ceasefire appeared shaky at first, with Iranian strikes and Israel before an outburst from Trump.
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi stated on Wednesday that there was a chance Tehran had moved much of its highly enriched uranium elsewhere as it came under attack.
When Iran's supreme leader emerges from hiding, he will find a very different nation.
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