Kolkata: The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has hit out at Israel and the United States amid his country’s ongoing armed conflict with the Benjamin Netanyahu-led country. Khamenei warned that there will “dire consequences” for Iran and said that Tehran will harshly retaliate against Israel’s attacks.
In a televised message on Wednesday, the first since the latest conflict began, Khamenei said Tehran would stand firm against an “imposed war”. He said, “The Zionist regime made a big mistake and will be punished for its actions. Our people will not spare the blood of their martyrs and will not stop violating their country’s airspace.”
He also fired verbal shots at the US, a day after President Donald Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”. The Supreme Leader said, “Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender, and Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.” Khamenei added, “Our armed forces are ready to defend the homeland, supported by officials and all segments of the nation.”
On June 18, Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel with Khamenei declaring that “the battle begins” amid escalating armed conflict between the two nations. Iran’s first salvo at Iran included around 15 projectiles and the next barrage, which began around 40 minutes later, had around 10 rockets.
Later, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have used hypersonic missiles in the attack and said in a statement, “The 11th wave of the proud Operation Honest Promise 3 using Fattah-1 missiles was carried out”, and claimed that Iranian forces “have gained complete control over the skies of the occupied territories.”
Notably, US President Donald Trump had earlier issued veiled threats at Khamenei and demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender”. In a Truth Social post, the US president warned Iran that it had total control over the skies of Tehran said, “We are not going to take him out (kill!) — at least not for now. Our patience is wearing thin”, before demanding Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” minutes later.
