Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said that Iran would respond to any future U.S. attack by striking American military bases in the West Asia.
In his first televised remarks since a ceasefire was reached between Iran and Israel, he said that Iran would not surrender despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls.
He further added that the Islamic Republic has access to important American centres in the region and can take action against them whenever it deems necessary. Khamenei said the U.S. gained no achievement after it attacked Iranian nuclear sites.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said they would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment programme. The statement was made during an exchange with reporters while attending the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that Iran would respond to any further U.S. attacks by targeting American military bases in the Middle East, while declaring what he described as a “total victory” over Israel.
“The Islamic Republic slapped America in the face. It attacked one of the important American bases in the region,” Khamenei said during his first televised remarks since a ceasefire was reached to end the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel..
On Monday, Tehran launched 19 ballistic missiles at Al Udeid Air Base, a U.S. airbase in Qatar, in response to an American attack on three nuclear program sites inside Iran. All but one of the missiles were intercepted by air defenses, and no American or Qatari personnel were reported injured in the attack.
“Such an action can be repeated in the future too. Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,” the Ayatollah warned, adding that Iran has “access to key U.S. centers in the region.”
Iran’s supreme leader has insisted the US “gained no achievements” from strikes on its nuclear facilities, in his first public address since a ceasefire with Israel was agreed on Tuesday.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the strikes did not “accomplish anything significant” to disrupt Iran’s nuclear programme, and described the retaliation against an American air base in Qatar as dealing a “heavy blow”.
It came as Washington doubled down on its assessment that the strikes had severely undermined Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said intelligence gathered by the US and Israel indicated the operation “significantly damaged the nuclear programme, setting it back by years”.
