Defiant Ayatollah claims victory for Iran after hostilities with Israel, U.S.

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jun 26, 2025 7:10 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed triumph implicit Israel connected Thursday and said Iran had "delivered a manus slap to America's face," arsenic helium re-emerged aft taking shelter in a concealed location.

Iran's ultimate person made the comments during a televised code and warned that immoderate aboriginal aggression against Iran would travel astatine a large cost. He hadn't been seen successful nationalist since Israel attacked Iranian atomic facilities and targeted apical subject commanders and scientists opening June 13.

Following a monolithic onslaught by the U.S. connected June 22 that deed the atomic sites with bunker-buster bombs, U.S. President Donald Trump was capable to assistance negociate a ceasefire that came into effect connected Tuesday.  

Before the ceasefire, Iran had responded to the U.S. involution by sending ballistic missiles successful the absorption of the U.S. subject base in Qatar, though it appeared the Americans were fixed beforehand announcement of the volley. No deaths oregon injuries were reported by U.S. oregon Qatari officials.

"The information that the Islamic Republic has entree to important American centres in the portion and tin instrumentality enactment against them whenever it deems indispensable is not a tiny incident, it is simply a large incident, and this incidental tin beryllium repeated successful the aboriginal if an onslaught is made," said Khamenei.

Trump furniture officials including U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth are acceptable to little U.S. senators connected the strikes connected Thursday. Hegseth met with reporters first and said he was unaware of immoderate quality suggesting Iran had moved immoderate of its highly enriched uranium successful bid to shield it ahead of the play strikes.

LISTEN l  Gregg Carlstrom, the Economist's Middle East correspondent, connected latest successful war: 

Fordow bombs were connected target: Pentagon official

Gen. Dan Caine, the associated chiefs of unit chairman, responding to a newsman question, said helium had not faced governmental unit from officials successful the Trump medication to tailor his archetypal assessments of the strikes — and added that he wouldn't hold to specified a request.

Caine's remark came aft the medication took umbrage aft an quality study was leaked to the media. The report, slammed by Trump and apical officials, suggested that Iran's atomic programme has been acceptable backmost lone a fewer months.

"We don't people our ain homework, the quality assemblage does," Caine said connected Thursday.

Caine said six bombs targeting the ventilation shafts of Iran's Fordow enrichment tract were connected target. On Sunday, Caine said it was "far excessively early" to measure the harm resulting from the strikes.

WATCH l U.S. officials downplay archetypal quality appraisal connected Iran strikes: 

CIA Director John Ratcliffe, successful a connection precocious Wednesday, said that the U.S. airstrikes had "severely damaged" Iran's atomic program, but helium stopped abbreviated of declaring that the programme had been destroyed. The bureau confirmed a "body of credible evidence" that respective cardinal Iranian facilities were destroyed and would instrumentality years to rebuild, helium said.

Israel's atomic bureau assessed the strikes had "set backmost Iran's quality to make atomic weapons by galore years." The White House has besides circulated the Israeli assessment.

The caput of the UN's atomic watchdog, Rafael Grossi, has dismissed what helium called the "hourglass approach" of assessing harm to Iran's atomic programme successful presumption of months needed to rebuild, saying determination needs to beryllium a sustainable semipermanent solution.

"In immoderate case, the technological cognition is determination and the concern capableness is there. That, nary 1 tin deny. So we request to enactment unneurotic with them," helium said.

The statements come as anxious Iranians and Israelis sought to resume mean beingness aft 12 days of the astir aggravated confrontation ever betwixt the 2 foes and a ceasefire that took effect Tuesday.

Iranian authorities said 627 radical were killed and astir 5,000 injured successful Iran, wherever the grade of the harm could not beryllium independently confirmed due to the fact that of choky restrictions connected media. Twenty-eight radical person been killed successful Israel from Iranian strikes.

WATCH l Iran's ultimate leader once ordered a halt to atomic program: 

France confirms assistance defending Israel

While the U.S. efforts connected behalf of Israel person been good established, defence curate Sébastien Lecornu outlined France's publication precocious connected Wednesday.

"I tin corroborate that the French service intercepted little than 10 drones successful the past fewer days during the antithetic subject operations conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel, either by ground-to-air systems oregon via our Rafale combatant jets," Lecornu said during a parliamentary statement connected the concern successful the Middle East.

Lecornu said Iran had launched immoderate 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones toward Israel during the 12-day conflict.

Israel's objection that it could people Iran's elder enactment seemingly astatine volition posed possibly the biggest situation yet for Iran's clerical rulers, astatine a captious juncture erstwhile they indispensable find a successor for Khamenei, present 86 and successful powerfulness for 36 years.

Iran's authorities moved swiftly to show their power earlier Khamenei's speech. The judiciary announced the execution of 3 men connected Wednesday convicted of collaborating with Israel's Mossad spy bureau and smuggling instrumentality utilized successful an assassination.

Iran had arrested 700 radical accused of ties with Israel during the conflict, the state-affiliated Nournews reported.

Trump told to butt retired of Netanyahu's troubles

During the war, some Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump publically suggested that it could extremity with the toppling of Iran's full strategy of clerical rule, established successful its 1979 revolution.

But aft the ceasefire, Trump said helium did not privation to spot "regime change" successful Iran, which helium said would bring chaos astatine a clip erstwhile helium wanted the concern to settee down.

Meanwhile, Trump connected societal media precocious Wednesday called for Israel to pardon Netanyahu oregon cancel his corruption trial.

Netanyahu was indicted successful 2019 successful Israel connected charges of bribery, fraud and breach of spot — each of which the premier curate denies. The proceedings began successful 2020 and involves 3 transgression cases. He has pleaded not blameworthy and chafed astatine his regular appearances to springiness testimony, arguing they've been an undue load arsenic helium leads successful a clip of war.

Israel's absorption person Yair Lapid said Trump should support retired of the matter.

"With each owed respect and gratitude to the president of the United States, he's not expected to intervene successful a ineligible process of an autarkic state," Lapid said.