Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has launched a scathing attack on United States President Donald Trump, ridiculing his call for Tehran’s “unconditional surrender” as boastful bluster unworthy of a world leader.
In his first public address since the ceasefire ended twelve days of fierce exchanges between Iran and Israel, Khamenei on Thursday derided Trump’s remarks, declaring that the US had “achieved nothing” despite its military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. The Supreme Leader, speaking firmly and often with sarcasm, dismissed the US President’s rhetoric as emblematic of a reckless foreign policy divorced from strategic reality.
“Trump said, ‘Iran must surrender.’ Needless to say, this statement is too big to come out of the mouth of the US president,” Khamenei posted on X (formerly Twitter), calling him a “loudmouth”.
The ceasefire, which took effect earlier this week, followed a series of Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure—most notably at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, after Israel launched its military operation named Rising Lion on 13 June. Iran responded with heavy missile and drone barrages under Operation True Promise III.
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Khamenei, who until now had not publicly addressed the situation, said the US entered the conflict “to save the Zionist regime” but had failed in its objective.
“The US regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be destroyed,” he said. “The US entered the war to save the Israeli regime but achieved nothing.”
In a separate message posted online, Khamenei hailed what he described as a "heavy slap to US' face".
“The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face. It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region,” his translated statement read.
In contrast, Trump has continued to assert that the United States’ strikes “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme, citing satellite footage and damage reports. However, Iran has refuted those claims, insisting that its nuclear infrastructure remains intact and dismissing Washington’s declarations as “exaggerations”.
The Israeli assault, according to Tel Aviv, was prompted by fears of Iran crossing key uranium enrichment thresholds. Khamenei, however, maintained that Tehran had never planned to build nuclear weapons and accused the West of stoking unfounded panic.
The ongoing tension has also intensified scrutiny of the long-standing power struggle in West Asia, with Iran’s leadership increasingly framing the conflict as one of resistance against Western hegemony.
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