Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday claimed triumph over Israel in the recent 12-day conflict, asserting that the Islamic Republic had dealt a symbolic blow to the United States. His remarks came during his first public appearance since June 19, following the declaration of a ceasefire earlier this week.
Speaking in a video message aired on state television, Khamenei appeared noticeably more fatigued than in his last broadcast, news agency AP reported. Seated before plain brown curtains, he said, “The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America’s face,” referring to Monday’s Iranian missile strike on a US base in Qatar, which reportedly caused no casualties.
During Thursday’s address, Khamenei declared, “Despite all the fanfares and claims, the Zionist regime was nearly destroyed and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
Khamenei alleged that the United States only intervened because it feared “the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed” if left unaided, yet “achieved no gains from this war.” He remarked that the U.S. “achieved no gains from this war”, AP reported.
“The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America’s face,” he said, in apparent reference to an Iranian missile attack on an American base in nearby Qatar on Monday, which did not lead to any casualties.
Khamenei issued a stern warning, saying that “such an action can be repeated in the future, too,” claiming that Iran has “access to key U.S. centers in the region and can take action whenever it deems necessary.”
“Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,” he said, as per AP.
The 86-year-old leader had not been seen in public since June 13, when Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and targeted high-ranking military officials and scientists. Following the outbreak of hostilities, Khamenei reportedly took shelter in a secure, undisclosed location.
The war escalated when, on June 22, the United States struck Iranian nuclear sites using bunker-buster bombs. A ceasefire brokered with the help of US President Donald Trump came into effect on Tuesday.
Internal Security Crackdown In Iran Follows Ceasefire
Even as the ceasefire took hold, Iranian authorities have shifted focus to internal control, initiating a sweeping security operation involving arrests, executions, and military deployments, particularly in the Kurdish-majority regions, as reported by news agency Reuters.
Within days of the Israeli offensive, security forces intensified their street presence through checkpoints and began detaining citizens across the country. Officials and activists said this was part of a broader crackdown aimed at preventing domestic unrest, as per Reuters’s report.
A senior Iranian security official told Reuters that the Revolutionary Guards and Basij paramilitary units were on heightened alert. The authorities, he said, were concerned about the potential threat from Israeli operatives, ethnic separatists, and the exiled People’s Mujahideen Organisation, which has carried out attacks within Iran in the past.
Executions, Arrests Reported Amid Fears of Dissent In Iran
Despite anger among some Iranians over government policies that they believe triggered the Israeli strikes, no major protests have emerged so far. Still, activists remain cautious.
“We are being extremely cautious right now because there’s a real concern the regime might use this situation as a pretext,” said a human rights activist based in Tehran, who had previously been imprisoned during the 2022 protests, as quoted by the report.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRNA), at least 705 individuals have been detained on political or security-related charges since the conflict began. HRNA also reported that many of those arrested have been accused of spying for Israel.
On Tuesday, Iranian state media confirmed that three individuals were executed in Urmia, a city near the Turkish border. Kurdish rights group Hengaw stated that all three were Kurdish.
