Iran’s supreme chief says US strikes ‘gained no achievements’

Iran’s supreme chief has insisted the US “gained no achievements” from strikes on its nuclear amenities, in his first public tackle since a ceasefire with Israel was agreed on Tuesday.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated the strikes didn’t “accomplish something important” to disrupt Iran’s nuclear programme, and described the retaliation in opposition to an American air base in Qatar as dealing a “heavy blow”.

It got here as Washington doubled down on its evaluation that the strikes had severely set again Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth stated intelligence gathered by the US and Israel indicated the operation had “destroyed” the programme.

US President Donald Trump has stated the strikes in opposition to three key nuclear websites inside Iran had “completely obliterated” them and responded furiously to studies citing unnamed American officers suggesting the injury could have been much less in depth than anticipated.

Talking alongside senior normal Dan Caine at a Pentagon press convention on Thursday morning, Hegseth stated the mission was a “historic success” that had “rendered [Iranian] enrichment amenities inoperable”.

Throughout an at occasions combative alternate with reporters, Hegseth additionally stated the US was “not conscious of any intelligence” which indicated the enriched uranium had moved out of Fordo – the deeply buried facility which the US focused with highly effective so-called buster bombs – previous to the strikes.

Khamenei, who had been largely out of public view since direct battle with Israel broke out on 13 June, launched a televised tackle on Thursday morning, ending a week-long public silence.

The supreme chief has reportedly been sheltering in a bunker and limiting communications, which has sparked hypothesis about his whereabouts. Iranian authorities didn’t disclose the place he was talking from on Thursday, although a senior official acknowledged he was in a protected place earlier this week.

Khamenei used Thursday’s video tackle to threaten to hold out extra strikes on US bases within the Center East if Iran was attacked once more, and declared victory over each Israel and the US.

Khamenei stated Trump had “exaggerated” the impression of the nuclear website strikes, including: “They could not accomplish something and didn’t obtain their goal.”

Referencing the assault on the US’ air base in Qatar, Khamenei stated: “This incident can be repeatable sooner or later, and will any assault happen, the fee for the enemy and the aggressor will undoubtedly be very excessive.”

Nobody was killed throughout that assault, which Trump stated had been flagged earlier than it was launched. The US says the bottom was not broken.

Direct confrontation broke out between Iran and Israel on 13 June, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “if not stopped, Iran might produce a nuclear weapon in a really quick time”.

A day earlier the worldwide nuclear watchdog’s board of governors declared Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the primary time in 20 years.

Iran has maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian functions alone and that it had by no means sought to develop a nuclear weapon.

On Thursday, Iran authorized a parliamentary invoice calling for an finish to the nation’s co-operation with the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA), that means it’s now not dedicated to permitting nuclear inspectors into its websites.

Iran’s well being ministry stated 610 folks had been killed through the 12 days of air assaults, whereas Israeli authorities stated 28 killed.

The US grew to become instantly concerned final weekend, hanging amenities in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, earlier than Trump sought to quickly mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

The ceasefire appeared shaky at first, with Iranian strikes and Israel earlier than an outburst from Trump

UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi stated on Wednesday that there was an opportunity Tehran had moved a lot of its extremely enriched uranium elsewhere because it got here underneath assault.