Iran’s humiliated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came out of hiding Thursday to ludicrously claim victory over Israel and having “delivered a hand slap to America’s face” during his first address since the “total obliteration” of his nuclear weapons facilities.
Khamenei said he was “victorious” in the 12-day war despite losing years of progress on its nuclear programs, including more than a dozen of his leading scientists being killed and the “obliteration” of three nuclear enrichment facilities.
“The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America’s face,” Khamenei said Thursday, in clear defiance of reality.
The head of the Islamic Regime has been in hiding since Israel launched Operation Rising Lion on June 13, fearing an assassination attempt by the Jewish state.
Israel had launched hundreds of missiles around Tehran, along with a covert operation that destroyed ground-to-air and ground-to-ground defense systems.
Khamenei’s address comes five days after President Trump ordered seven B-2 bombers to drop “bunker-busting” bombs on the underground Fordow nuclear site, as nuclear-capable submarines launched cruise missiles at two others sites, Natanz and Isfahan.
“US hit nuclear sites but couldn’t achieve much,” Khamenei said in a televised speech before calling out Trump.
“US President Trump needed to do showmanship,” he said.
“With all that commotion and all those claims, the Zionist regime was practically knocked out and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said earlier on X.
The isolated Iranian leader’s statements are the first since a cease-fire was agreed upon by his nation and Israel.
Trump announced the cease-fire Monday evening, hours before Israel said Tehran fired a missile barrage at the Jewish state, leading the 79-year-old commander-in-chief to bash both nations.
The Jewish state launched fighter jets directed at Iran, but there were no attacks.
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“ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘Plane Wave’ to Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday morning.
“I think they both violated it,” Trump told reporters on his way to the NATO summit Tuesday, calling out Israel’s promise to resume attacks after accusing Iran of a “blatant violation” of the agreed-upon cease-fire.
The cease-fire agreement has since held as the US and Qatar attempt to get Iran back to the negotiating table to discuss its nuclear energy program.
With Post wires
