Iran's leader issues dubious claims of victory over Israel and the U.S.

4 hours ago 29

"I connection my congratulations connected the triumph implicit the fallacious Zionist regime," a connection posted Thursday connected Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's X relationship declared. Another post added the bold assertion that Israel's authorities "was practically knocked retired and crushed nether the blows of the Islamic Republic."

In a recorded video code to his federation — his archetypal nationalist remarks since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Israel took effect connected Tuesday — Khamenei went further, suggesting a "large fig of subject and different targets" successful Israel had been targeted by Iran's missiles.

They whitethorn person been targeted, but successful reality, Iran's 12 days of rocket launches saw comparatively fewer rockets evade Israel's aerial defenses. A full of 28 radical were killed, and nary of them person been identified arsenic authorities officials, but alternatively civilians killed erstwhile missiles struck flat buildings and cities.

Israel's strikes connected Iran killed astatine slightest 30 subject commanders, connected the different hand, and, successful operation with the U.S. strikes implicit the weekend, "obliterated" the country's atomic program, according to President Trump. The U.S.-based radical Human Rights Activists successful Iran, which relies connected a web of sources successful the country, said Wednesday that the strikes had killed astatine slightest 1,054 radical successful Iran, including a full of 318 subject personnel.

07-after-airstrikes-close-up-view-of-holes-and-craters-on-ridge-at-fordow-underground-complex-iran-22jun2025-ge1.jpg

While afloat assessments of the harm inflicted are inactive being compiled, the heads of 2 U.S. quality agencies said Wednesday that "new" quality indicated the Iranian atomic enrichment programme was apt acceptable backmost by "years." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bureau said earlier Wednesday that the country's ain quality appraisal showed Iran's atomic programme was enactment backmost "many years."

Khamenei had a precise antithetic instrumentality — again, offered without immoderate specifics oregon evidence. He claimed the U.S. had joined successful Israel's strikes "as it felt if it did not bash so, the Zionist authorities would get wholly annihilated, truthful they entered the warfare to forestall this."

"They did not negociate to bash thing important to our atomic facilities," helium claimed, adding that Mr. Trump had "overplayed the full thing" and adjacent that Iran had fixed "the U.S. a large slap successful the face" by attacking the Al-Udeid Air Base successful Qatar, which is location to thousands of American forces.

But nary of the astir twelve missiles Iran fired astatine the sprawling basal deed it. They were intercepted, contempt the ayatollah's assertion of "lots of damage" to the site

Anxiety successful Iran fueling the ayatollah's dubious claims?

Khamenei's remarks connected Thursday were dense connected rhetorical flourish and virtually devoid of immoderate facts, and they whitethorn person been aimed much astatine Iran's radical than the wider world.

Iran's theocratic rulers, who swept to powerfulness with the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled a pro-Western authorities pb by the royal household of the shah, person agelong maintained choky power implicit each media successful the country, and galore Iranians person small entree to extracurricular information.

Still, particularly among younger, much tech-savvy generations, determination is an knowing of the grade to which Iran's radical bash not bask the freedoms that galore different countries warrant — and it has led to respective fashionable protestation uprisings implicit the past decade. All of them person been brutally quashed by the authorities, but Netanyahu called precise rapidly aft Israel started bombing Iran for caller anti-government protests successful the country, urging Iranians to instrumentality vantage of the attacks, which helium said had enactment the ayatollah successful his weakest presumption ever.

Khamenei has yet to beryllium seen unrecorded oregon successful nationalist since the ceasefire, and his precise whereabouts remained unclear Thursday aft the pre-recorded video connection was released.

While the ceasefire enabled Israelis to revel connected Wednesday successful a instrumentality to normalcy, with the lifting of 12 days of war-time information measures, successful Tehran, anxiousness inactive appeared rife.

CBS News analogous Imtiaz Tyab and his squad were granted Iranian visas to participate the state earlier successful the week, and they were the archetypal American broadcast web to participate Tehran since the warfare began. But it took them an arduous travel done arid landscapes and crossed the borderline from Turkey to scope Iran's capital, arsenic the country's airspace had been closed.

Tyab said the Iranian superior felt precise antithetic this week compared to his erstwhile sojourn astir 5 years earlier, when, contempt the government's authoritarian power implicit regular life, it was a vibrant metropolis. On Thursday, contempt the truce, astir businesses remained shut, and the consciousness of nervousness was palpable.

Tucker Reals

Tucker Reals is CBSNews.com's overseas editor, based successful the CBS News London bureau. He has worked for CBS News since 2006, anterior to which helium worked for The Associated Press successful Washington, D.C., and London.

Read Entire Article