Khamenei says Iran dealt US ‘severe slap’, claims victory over Israel

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that the US had “gained nothing” from its attacks during the Islamic republic’s 12-day war with Israel that saw nuclear sites hit, France24 reports with inputs from AFP and AP news agencies. 

In a video broadcast on Iranian state television, Khamenei said the US “engaged in the war directly, convinced that its refusal to intervene would lead to the complete destruction of the Zionist regime”.

“It has gained nothing from this war,” Khamenei said of Washington, adding that “the Islamic republic won, and in retaliation dealt a severe slap to the face of America”.

“Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,” he said.

The comments came in the wake of an attack on Sunday in which American forces hit three Iranian nuclear facilities with bunker-buster bombs and cruise missiles.

Iran retaliated on Monday with a missile attack on a US base in nearby Qatar, but caused no casualties.

Later on Thursday, a parliamentary bill to suspend Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was ratified by the Guardian Council, Iran’s Young Journalist Club news outlet reported on Thursday, referring to a panel of clerics and jurists who vet legislation.

“The government is required to suspend all cooperation with the (International Atomic Energy Agency) to ensure full respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Guardian Council spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif told the official IRNA news agency.

He said the move was prompted by the “attacks… by the Zionist regime and the United States against peaceful nuclear facilities”.

The 86-year-old Khamenei hasn’t been seen in public since taking shelter in a secret location after the outbreak of the war June 13 when Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and targeted top military commanders and scientists.

Following the US attack on Iranian nuclear sites, US President Donald Trump was able to help negotiate a ceasefire that came into effect on Tuesday.

In his appearance on Thursday, he sat in front of plain brown curtains to give his address, similar to his June 19 message. 

US defence

In the United States, leaked intelligence this week opened up a Pandora’s box of accusations and counter-claims over the extent of the damage caused by the strikes.

Later on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is due to offer a fresh assessment of the attacks. 

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After waves of Israeli attacks on nuclear and military sites and retaliatory missile fire from Iran since June 13, the United States bombed three key Iranian atomic facilities.

An initial classified assessment, first reported by CNN, was said to have concluded that the strikes did not destroy key components and that Iran’s nuclear programme was set back only months at most.

Another key question raised by experts is whether Iran, preparing for the strike, moved out some 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of enriched uranium – which could now be hidden elsewhere in the vast country.

The US administration has hit back furiously, with Trump saying the attack “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities, including the key site of Fordo buried inside a mountain, and that it had set the programme back by “decades”.

Trump said that Hegseth, whom he dubbed “war” secretary, would hold a news conference at 8am (12:00 GMT) on Thursday to “fight for the dignity of our great American pilots”.

CIA chief John Ratcliffe said in a statement on Wednesday that “several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years”.

The Israeli military said it had delivered a “significant” blow to Iran’s nuclear sites but that it was “still early” to fully assess the damage.

Netanyahu announced that “we have thwarted Iran’s nuclear project”.

“And if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild it, we will act with the same determination, with the same intensity, to foil any attempt,” he said.

Nuclear talks?

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told Al Jazeera that “nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure”.

After the war derailed nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, Trump said Washington would hold discussions with Tehran next week, with his special envoy Steve Witkoff expressing hope “for a comprehensive peace agreement”.

Trump told reporters that Israel and Iran were “both tired, exhausted”, before going on to say that talks were planned with Iran next week.

“We may sign an agreement. I don’t know,” he added.

Iran has systematically denied seeking a nuclear weapon while defending its “legitimate rights” to the peaceful use of atomic energy.

It has also said it was willing to return to nuclear negotiations with Washington.

The Israeli strikes on Iran killed at least 627 civilians, Tehran’s health ministry said.

Iran’s attacks on Israel killed 28 people, according to official figures.

A state funeral will be held on Saturday in Tehran for top commanders and nuclear scientists killed in the war.