Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has downplayed Sunday’s U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites using bunker-buster bombs and cruise missiles.
He asserted that US President, Donald Trump — who said the attack “completely and fully obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program — had “exaggerated” its impact. “They could not achieve anything significant,” Khamenei said.
Khamenei’s remarks come two days after a ceasefire halted a 12-day war between Iran and Israel and mark his first public appearance since June 19, 2025.
The speech also comes amid conflicting accounts in the US over the extent of the damage inflicted by US strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan during the conflict. US President, Donald Trump said the strikes “obliterated” the nuclear facilities.
Khamenei claimed the US had only intervened in the war because “it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed.” He added, “It entered the war to save them, yet it gained nothing.”
He stressed that his country’s attack on the U.S. base in Qatar on Monday was significant, since it shows Iran “has access to important US centers in the region and can act against them whenever it deems necessary.”
“The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America’s face. This action can be repeated in the future.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
His characterization of Monday’s strike on the U.S. airbase in Qatar contrasted with US accounts of it as a limited attack with no casualties.
Trump has dismissed the Monday retaliatory attack as a “very weak response.”
He stated that the US had been warned by Iran in advance and stressing that there had been no casualties.
Earlier this week, Tehran said that 606 people had been killed in the conflict in Iran, with 5,332 people wounded.
The Washington-based Human Rights Activists group released figures Wednesday suggesting Israeli strikes on Iran had killed at least 1,054 and wounded 4,476.
The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from multiple rounds of unrest in Iran, said 417 of those killed were civilians and 318 were security forces.
At least 28 people were killed in Israel and more than 1,000 wounded, according to officials there.
According to new statistics released by Israeli authorities, during the 12-day war, Iran fired more than 550 missiles at Israel with a 90% interception rate.
Israel claimed that in the meantime, it hit more than 720 Iranian military infrastructure targets and eight nuclear-related sites.
Khamenei Warns US Against Further Attacks
Moreover, Khamenei vowed, “Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price.”
Striking a defiant tone, the Iranian Supreme Leader stressed that his country will “never surrender” to the United States.
“The American President indicated in one of his statements that Iran must surrender. Surrender! It is no longer a question of enrichment, nor of the nuclear industry, but of the surrender of Iran.
“Such an event (surrender) will never happen. It will never happen.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Since the ceasefire, life has been gradually returning to normal in Iran.
Today, Thursday, June 26, 2025, Iran partially reopened its airspace, which had been shut down since the war began, and shops in Tehran’s capital began to reopen, with traffic returning to the streets.
Trump has also asserted that American and Iranian officials will talk next week, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace.
Iran has not acknowledged that any such talks would take place, though US Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff has said there has been direct and indirect communication between the countries.
A sixth round of US-Iran negotiations was scheduled for earlier this month in Oman but was canceled after Israel attacked Iran on June 13, 2025.
Iran has insisted that it will not give up its nuclear program. In a vote underscoring the tough path ahead, its parliament agreed yesterday to fast-track a proposal that would effectively stop the country’s cooperation with the IAEA, which has monitored the program for years.
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