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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has asserted that the United States “gained no achievements” from its strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. This marks his first public statement since a ceasefire agreement with Israel was reached on Tuesday.
Khamenei stated that the strikes did not “accomplish anything significant” in disrupting Iran’s nuclear program. He further characterized Iran’s retaliation against an American air base in Qatar as delivering a “heavy blow.”
His remarks come as Washington reaffirmed its assessment that the strikes had significantly undermined Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that intelligence gathered by the U.S. and Israel indicated the operation “significantly damaged the nuclear program, setting it back by years.”
Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed the strikes against three key nuclear sites inside Iran “totally obliterated” them. He has responded sharply to reports citing unnamed American officials suggesting the damage may have been less extensive than initially anticipated.
Speaking alongside senior General Dan Caine at a Pentagon press conference on Thursday morning, Hegseth described the mission as a “historic success” that had “rendered [Iranian] enrichment facilities inoperable.”
During a sometimes contentious exchange with reporters, Hegseth also stated that the U.S. was “not aware of any intelligence” indicating that enriched uranium had been moved out of Fordo—the deeply buried facility targeted by the U.S. with powerful “bunker buster” bombs—prior to the strikes.
Khamenei, who had been largely out of public view since direct conflict with Israel began on June 13, delivered a televised address on Thursday morning, ending a week-long period of public silence.
The Supreme Leader has reportedly been sheltering in a bunker and limiting communications, leading to speculation about his whereabouts. Iranian authorities have not disclosed his location during Thursday’s address, although a senior official acknowledged earlier in the week that he was in a safe place.
Khamenei used Thursday’s video address to threaten further strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East if Iran is attacked again, and declared victory over both Israel and the U.S.
Khamenei asserted that Trump had “exaggerated” the impact of the nuclear site strikes, stating: “They couldn’t accomplish anything and did not achieve their objective.”
Referring to the attack on the U.S. 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 fatalities occurred during that attack, which Trump stated had been flagged in advance. The U.S. maintains that the base was not damaged.
CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. partner, reports that the White House is considering a range of options to entice Iran back to the negotiating table, including facilitating funding for a civilian, non-enrichment nuclear program.
However, Iran’s Foreign Minister told Iranian state TV on Thursday that no talks with the U.S. are currently planned.
Direct confrontation between Iran and Israel broke out 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 consistently maintained that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes and that it has 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 stated that 610 people were killed during the 12 days of air attacks, while Israeli authorities reported 28 fatalities.
The U.S. became directly involved last weekend, striking facilities in Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, before Trump moved to rapidly mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, which has been in effect since.
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.
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