With his defense installations in rags and his nuclear program in tatters, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared victory over America on Thursday.
Khamenei took his version of the facts to social media in a series of posts, all of which were aimed at America.
“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 posted on X.
The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face. It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 26, 2025
“The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face. It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region,” he wrote in another post on X.
And in another post, he said Iran has claws to attack the U.S.
“The fact that the Islamic Republic has access to key US centers 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,” he posted on X.
The fact that the Islamic Republic has access to key US centers 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.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 26, 2025
Khamenei, who had been in hiding as Israeli leaders openly debated whether or not to assassinate him, emerged from hiding to give a televised address saying an attack on Iran would be met with a retaliatory attack, according to Reuters.
Khamenei’s version came not long before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth painted a very different picture.
He said, “the most complex and secretive military operation in history” to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities that had been buried in a mountain was a “resounding success,” according to the BBC.
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.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) June 26, 2025
During a Pentagon presentation, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted the extent to which the attack on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar referenced by Khamenei was a nothing-burger. The U.S. announced on the day of the attack that the missiles launched by Iran were intercepted with no damage or injuries reported.
“On Monday morning, the U.S. began to receive warnings that Iran intended to attack U.S. bases in region,” he said.
In light of that, the military assumed a “minimum force posture” at the base – with “most folks” moved off the base to the point where only 44 soldiers remained.
Reuters has reported that the base usually houses about 10,000 troops.
During his presentation, Caine said the bunker-buster bombs dropped on the Fordow nuclear site will not make a lot of surface show.
“Unlike a normal surface bomb, you won’t see an impact crater, because they’re designed to deeply bury and then function. I know there’s been a lot of questions about that all six weapons at each vent at Fordow went exactly where they were intended to go,” he said, according to the U.K. Independent.
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