New Delhi: In his first address since the ceasefire with Israel, Ayotollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader has accused US President Donald Trump of exaggerating the impact of American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. In a televised address, Khamenei accused Trump of “exaggerating events in unusual ways” and said “it turned out that he needed this exaggeration”.
Khamenei claimed that the strikes carried out by the US inflicted nothing significant on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Trump, however, said that the US attacks were devastating. He maintained that key nuclear facilities in Iran such as the underground Fordo uranium enrichment site have been wiped out by American B-2 bombers.
The US President took to Truth Social and dismissed the speculation that Iran might have enriched or removed uranium prior to the US raid. Trump said, “Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!”
Khamenei dismissed these assertions and declared that Tehran had achieved a “victory” and dealt Washington a “severe slap to the face.”
These remarks follow the end of a 12-day long war between Iran and Israel. Both Iran and Israel have claimed victory with Benjamin Netanyahu calling it a “historic win”. Khamenei however, has said that Iran’s missile retaliation has brought Israel to the brink of collapse.
Washington’s stance
In Washington, the effectiveness of the strikes remains disputed. A US intelligence assessment suggested that the damage was ‘modest’ and likely set Iran’s program back by a few months. CIA Director John Ratcliffe also said that “Iran’s nuclear programme may be less severe than initially claimed” — possibly delaying progress by only a few months.
Peter Hegseth, Pentagon chief has accused the media of misrepresenting the operation. “President Trump created the conditions to end the war, decimating – choose your word – obliterating, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” Hegseth said as quoted by AFP.
