TEHRAN, June 26 — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday declared victory over Israel and claimed his country had “delivered a hand slap to America’s face,” marking his first public remarks since a ceasefire was reached in the recent war between Iran and Israel.
In a video address aired on Iranian state television, Khamenei alleged that the United States only stepped into the conflict to prevent a total collapse of Israel. “The United States intervened because it felt that if it did not, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed,” he said.
“The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America’s face,” Khamenei asserted, referring to Monday’s Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Qatar. While the strike caused no casualties, Tehran has framed it as a symbolic act of defiance.
Khamenei’s appearance was his first since June 19, and his remarks reflect Tehran’s narrative that Iran emerged stronger after weeks of escalating military exchanges. “America achieved no gains from this war,” he said, reiterating Iran’s view that Washington’s involvement failed to alter the outcome.
The ceasefire, brokered under international pressure, brought a temporary halt to the cross-border conflict that had drawn global concern over the prospect of wider regional escalation.
