Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday broke his silence, days after the ceasefire between Tehran and Israel, warning the US that it will ‘pay a heavy price’ if it attacks Iran again.
Khamenei claimed that Iran has access to key US centres in the region and could strike in the future if deemed necessary.
“The fact that the Islamic Republic has access to key US centres in the region and can take action whenever it deems necessary is a significant matter. Such an action can be repeated in the future too. Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,” the Iranian leader said in a televised address to the country.
Khamenei claimed victory against Israel and the US. He also claimed that Washington jumped into the war directly as they knew that Israel ‘would be destroyed.'
“My congratulations on our dear Iran’s victory over the US regime. The US regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. It entered the war in an effort to save that regime but achieved nothing,” he said.
Khamenei's first appearance since the start of the Iran-Israel war
Khamenei hasn’t appeared in public since the start of the war on June 13, when Israel launched attacks on nuclear and military targets across Iran. Thursday's address was his first since then.
{{/usCountry}}Khamenei hasn’t appeared in public since the start of the war on June 13, when Israel launched attacks on nuclear and military targets across Iran. Thursday's address was his first since then.
{{/usCountry}}In a frenetic 12-day period, several Iranian military leaders and scientists were killed, the US joined Israel with strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, and Tehran targeted a US base in Qatar while also hitting several Israeli cities with ballistic missiles.
A truce was eventually announced by US President Donald Trump and has broadly held since, despite early violations threatening to unwind it.
The latest comments come amid conflicting assessments from Washington about the effectiveness of the US strikes. Trump claimed key nuclear sites were “obliterated,” disputing a contrary Pentagon intelligence assessment.