Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei Breaks Silence, Claims Tehran Won War With Israel, Humbled US

In his first public appearance since 19 June, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday (26 June ) claimed that Iran emerged victorious in the recent war with Israel.

Speaking via a video broadcast on Iranian state television, Khamenei said the United States intervened in the conflict only out of fear that the “Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed” without support.

However, he declared that Washington gained nothing from its involvement.

"I feel it is necessary to extend several congratulations to the great Iranian nation. First, congratulations on the victory over the fake Zionist regime. Despite all its noise and claims, the Zionist regime was nearly brought to its knees and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic," Ayatollah Khamenei stated.

“The US entered the war directly because it feared that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed,” he said, adding that It intervened to save them but "gained nothing from the war.”

Referring to US President Donald Trump’s claims after Iran’s retaliation to American strikes, Ayatollah Khamenei said the bluster was a cover for failure.

“Anyone who heard his remarks could sense that behind those words lay a very different truth,” he said.

“They failed to achieve their objectives, and they inflated their claims to conceal the reality," he added.

He asserted that Iran had “delivered a harsh blow to US” by targeting the Al Udeid base, a key American stronghold in the region.

“The same people who overhyped their own actions then tried to dismiss this strike — even though it was a major event,” he added.

According to a report by Business Standard , Khamenei’s remarks appeared to reference the Iranian missile attack on a US base in Qatar on Monday , which reportedly caused no casualties but was presented as a symbolic retaliation.

His comments come days after a ceasefire was declared in the conflict between Iran and Israel, ending weeks of escalated military exchanges.