Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appeared for the first time since the recent ceasefire with Israel, declaring victory and downplaying the damage caused by U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. In a pre-recorded message broadcast on state television, Khamenei claimed Iran had “crushed” both Israel and the United States, framing the 12-day conflict as a strategic triumph for the Islamic Republic.
Khamenei congratulated the Iranian people for what he described as a dual victory: fending off Israel’s military aggression and forcing the U.S. to intervene in support of Israel, which he presented as evidence of Iran’s growing regional influence. Referring to the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, he dismissed American claims of severe damage, calling them exaggerated and politically motivated.
The Supreme Leader also took direct aim at U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing him of engaging in “showmanship.” He insisted the attack on the American military base at Al Udeid in Qatar had inflicted real damage and served as a “hard slap” in response to U.S. escalation. Khamenei argued that Iran’s resistance had exposed the limits of American power and deterred further aggression.
Appearing in the studio, Siaosh Ardelan of BBC Persian noted that the messaging from Iran’s leadership has remained consistent since the ceasefire, portraying the outcome as a win despite significant damage to Iranian infrastructure. Ardelan pointed out that Khamenei’s message was recorded in an undisclosed location—likely for security reasons—as Israeli forces had earlier suggested targeting him directly.
On the opposing side, Israel and the United States have framed the conflict differently. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that coordinated Israeli and U.S. strikes dealt a heavy blow to Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities. Trump administration officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, claimed Iran’s nuclear program was set back by “several years,” although a leaked Pentagon memo contradicted this, suggesting only months of delay.
Reporting from Tel Aviv, BBC’s Mark Lowen highlighted the stark contrast between narratives. While Iranian officials claimed the nuclear program remained largely intact, U.S. intelligence maintained that the sites were heavily damaged. Meanwhile, Israel asserted that the strikes had eliminated two major threats: Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its ballistic missile capabilities.
Adding another twist, President Trump made an unexpected intervention into Israeli domestic affairs. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he lashed out at Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, calling it a “travesty of justice” and urging that the Israeli prime minister be pardoned. Trump hailed Netanyahu as a wartime leader who had “saved Israel,” and implied that the U.S. now had a duty to “save Netanyahu.”
In Jerusalem, BBC’s Dan Johnson reported that this intervention followed a reportedly tense phone call between the two leaders during the ceasefire. Trump had allegedly asked Netanyahu to halt a planned airstrike on Iran, suggesting a rift in their usually close alliance.
From Tehran, Hassan Ahmadian, a professor of Middle East Studies, offered a more nuanced view. He acknowledged Iran had sustained serious damage during the war but argued that its ability to strike back proportionally changed the dynamic in the final days of conflict. Ahmadian contended that Netanyahu’s early objectives—such as a decisive end to Iran’s nuclear program—were not achieved.
In a further escalation, Iran’s Guardian Council has now ratified a parliamentary bill to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This move, while not officially pulling out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, casts doubt on the viability of upcoming talks with the U.S., which President Trump said would take place next week.
Ahmadian explained that Iran views the IAEA as having failed to protect its rights under the treaty. “Our facilities under IAEA surveillance were bombed, and the agency remained silent,” he said, reflecting Tehran’s growing frustration with international institutions.
As both sides dig in on their respective narratives, hopes for a negotiated settlement appear tenuous. The world will now be watching to see whether diplomacy can still emerge from the rubble of this latest confrontation.
