Ayatollah emerges from bunker to declare Iran ‘delivered a hand slap to America’s face’ in first public appearance since ceasefire
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has broken his silence to mock Donald Trump’s claims of “obliterating” Tehran’s nuclear sites, dismissing the US strikes as mere “showmanship” that “didn’t achieve much.”
In his first public comments since a shaky ceasefire was declared between Iran and Israel on Tuesday, the 86-year-old leader emerged from hiding to claim victory, boasting that his country had “delivered a hand slap to America’s face.”
The defiant message, broadcast on Iranian state television Thursday, marks Khamenei’s first appearance since taking shelter in a secret bunker location after Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13, sparking a 12-day war.
Despite Trump’s repeated claims that US bunker-buster bombs had “totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme, Khamenei insisted the Islamic Republic had emerged victorious from the conflict.
‘They Didn’t Achieve Much’
In a stunning dismissal of American military might, Khamenei claimed the US strikes on Iran’s key nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had failed to deliver the knockout blow Trump had promised.
“The United States did hit our nuclear sites but didn’t achieve much,” the Supreme Leader declared, accusing Trump of engaging in mere “showmanship” rather than effective military action.
His comments came as leaked US intelligence assessments suggested the strikes may have only set Iran’s nuclear programme back by months rather than years – a far cry from Trump’s boasts of total destruction.
The Ayatollah went further, claiming Iran had “delivered a hand slap to America’s face” – an apparent reference to Monday’s Iranian missile attack on a US base in Qatar, which caused no casualties after Tehran gave advance warning.
From Bunker to Bravado
Khamenei hadn’t been seen in public since disappearing into a secret location after the outbreak of war on June 13, when Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and targeted top military commanders.
The Supreme Leader’s absence had sparked speculation about his whereabouts and state of mind, with one analyst describing him as being in the “most dire situation of his entire life as an autocrat.
“He’s in a bunker. He’s 86 years old. He has limited physical, cognitive bandwidth. Most of his top military commanders were assassinated. He doesn’t control his own airspace,” Karim Sadjadpour from the Carnegie Endowment told CNN during the conflict.
But Thursday’s appearance showed a leader determined to project strength, even as questions swirl about the true extent of damage to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The Great Nuclear Debate
The war of words between Washington and Tehran comes amid fierce debate over what the US strikes actually achieved.
While Trump took to Truth Social to insist “The sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed, and everyone knows it,” a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency assessment painted a different picture.
The preliminary report suggested the strikes had only set Iran’s nuclear programme back by months, with core components remaining intact – prompting fury from the White House.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the leak as “a clear attempt to demean President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed it would take “years” for Iran to rebuild the three targeted facilities, while admitting they hadn’t been able to physically inspect the sites.
Why America Intervened
In his televised address, Khamenei offered his own theory for why the US had joined Israel’s conflict with Iran after initially staying on the sidelines.
The Supreme Leader claimed America only intervened because “it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed.”
But he insisted that despite the massive US firepower deployed – including B-2 stealth bombers dropping 30,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs – Washington had “achieved no gains from this war.”
The Islamic Republic was victorious,” he declared, offering “congratulations on the victory” over Israel in an earlier post on X.
The Fragile Ceasefire
The boastful rhetoric comes as a fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel teeters on the edge, with both sides accusing each other of violations within hours of the truce taking effect.
Trump himself had to scold both nations on Tuesday, using profanity to express his frustration. They don’t know what the f*** they’re doing,” he told reporters before heading to a NATO summit.
The president was particularly angry with Israel for bombing a radar site near Tehran shortly after agreeing to the ceasefire, telling reporters: “I’ve got to get Israel to calm down now.
Nuclear Cat and Mouse
The conflict has thrust Iran’s nuclear programme back into the spotlight, with conflicting claims about how much damage was inflicted.
Iranian officials claimed they had moved nuclear material and equipment from facilities before the strikes, though US Senator Markwayne Mullin disputed this, citing intelligence that no material was moved from the Fordow facility.
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported finding “possible localized contamination” at the struck sites, while satellite imagery showed significant damage to buildings at all three facilities.
A Leader Under Pressure
Despite his defiant public stance, analysts suggest Khamenei faces the greatest challenge to his 35-year rule.
The war saw Israel allegedly plan to assassinate him – a proposal Trump reportedly vetoed – while many of his top military commanders were killed in targeted strikes.
“He has survival instincts, but he also has defiant instincts,” said Sadjadpour. “And he’s having a real struggle in my view, reconciling those two.”
What Happens Next?
As the dust settles on the 12-day conflict, the key questions remain:
- Has Iran’s nuclear programme really been set back years, or just months?
- Can the fragile ceasefire hold without further violations?
- Will Trump’s intervention lead to new nuclear negotiations?
- How long can Khamenei maintain his grip on power?
For now, both sides are claiming victory while the world watches nervously to see if the ceasefire holds.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared “the end of the 12-day war,” while Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir insisted “the campaign against Iran is not over.
But with 610 Iranians and 28 Israelis dead, the real victors are hard to identify. What’s clear is that despite Trump’s “obliteration” claims and Khamenei’s victory boasts, the nuclear standoff between Iran and the West is far from resolved.
As one Israeli told Reuters in Haifa: “It’s just a demonstration that Israel, even though it claims to be in charge of its own fate and future, is still dependent on American support.
For Khamenei, emerging from his bunker to claim victory may be more about survival than triumph. At 86, facing an uncertain future and damaged nuclear facilities, his “showmanship” accusation against Trump might equally apply to his own defiant performance.
Image credit: Photo by Tasnim News Agency, taken in 2016 featuring Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Image page: View on Wikimedia Commons
