Khamenei claims Iran 'crushed' Israel, in first remarks since ceasefire

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has claimed that Israel was nearly destroyed and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic, the state news agency IRNA reports.

In his first remarks since the Iran-Israel conflict ended in a ceasefire, Khamenei said, "Despite all the fanfare and claims, the Zionist regime was nearly destroyed and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic."

In the third video message today (26 June), Khamenei said Israel "almost collapsed" following the Islamic republic's retaliatory strikes during a 12-day war launched by Israel.

He also congratulated "the great nation of Iran" for its "victory over the fake Zionist regime."

He further said the United States entered the conflict with Israel "because they felt that if they did not enter, the Zionist regime would be destroyed."

"However, the Americans did not gain anything in this war," the supreme leader added.

His pre-recorded remarks were aired on state television. As in his last comments, released more than a week ago during the 12-day Israeli bombardment, he spoke from an undisclosed indoor location in front of a brown curtain, between an Iranian flag and a portrait of his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini.

'Iran would strike back if attacked'

Khamenei said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East, reports Reuters.

The supreme leader said any attack on Iran would come at "great cost", and noted that Iran had fired on the largest US base in the region, located in Qatar, after Washington joined the Israeli strikes.

"The Islamic Republic slapped America in the face. It attacked one of the important American bases in the region," Khamenei said.

"The fact that the Islamic Republic has access to important American centres in the region and can take action against them whenever it deems necessary is not a small incident, it is a major incident, and this incident can be repeated in the future if an attack is made," he added.

US President Donald Trump said "Sure" on Wednesday when asked if the United States would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment programme.

'US ultimately seeks surrender and defeat of Iran'

Khamenei said the United States has made it clear that it ultimately seeks Iran's surrender.

"Trump showed the truth, made it clear that Americans will only be satisfied with the surrender and defeat of Iran and nothing else," he said in his remarks, referring to a social media post by President Donald Trump last week demanding the Islamic Republic's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER."

He said the US has had a "fundamental issue" with the Iranian regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought it to power, adding that Washington has been "disguising its goals" over the years by calling Iran out on "human rights, then women's rights, then enrichment, then the core nuclear program, then the issue of missile production."

"But in his statement, he revealed the truth, he showed his hand," he said, referring to Trump. "Previous presidents did not say this, because this is unacceptable, it is unacceptable and illogical to tell a nation to surrender."

"They come up with various excuses but at the core they want Iran's surrender," he added.