Ayatollah Claims ‘Victory’ Over Israel Which ‘Almost Collapsed’ in 1st Public Appearance Since Ceasefire
26th June 2025
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday issued his first comments since the Trump-backed ceasefire with Israel took effect, congratulating “the great nation of Iran” for its “victory over the fake Zionist regime.”
“Despite all that noise, and with all those claims, the Zionist regime almost collapsed and was crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” he said, according to the national IRNA news agency. He also claimed to have “delivered a slap to America’s face.”
At a moment the Trump administration is celebrating to ‘obliteration’ of the Islamic Republic’s core elements and main facilities of its nuclear program, the Ayatollah downplayed the effects of the military campaign.