Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said the United States suffered a heavy blow following its attack on Al-Udeid Air Base, one of the key U.S. military installations in the region.
In a statement issued on June 26, Khamenei noted that the Islamic Republic has access to critical U.S. centres in the region and can act whenever it deems necessary.
“The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face. It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region,” Khamenei said.
In his first speech since the ceasefire, Iran’s Supreme Leader said Trump has revealed that the US will only be satisfied with Iran’s surrender.
Khamenei Says US Suffered a Huge Blow
However, he stressed that Iran will never surrender.
Additionally, Khamenei congratulated Iran on what he described as a victory over the U.S. regime, claiming that the U.S. entered the conflict directly out of fear that the “Zionist regime” would be destroyed.
He asserted that despite its intervention, the United States failed to achieve any meaningful outcome.
“My congratulations on our dear Iran’s victory over the US regime. The US regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be destroyed. It entered the war to save that regime but achieved nothing,” he added.
He further stated that the Israel was effectively knocked out and crushed under the blows dealt by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Also Read: Iran’s Supreme Security Council Announces Ceasefire with Israel
Names of Successors
In the height of the exchange between Iran and Israel, Khamenei identified three high-ranking clerics as potential successors in the event of his death.
According to The New York Times, Khamenei also took the “unusual step” of directing Iran’s Assembly of Experts—the body responsible for appointing the Supreme Leader—to select his successor from the three individuals he has named.
Also Read: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei Names Successors Should US and Israel Eliminate Him
While the names of the three clerics remain undisclosed, the directive is viewed as a measure to guarantee a smooth and rapid transition of power.
“Ayatollah Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, also a cleric and close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who was rumoured to be a front-runner, is not among the candidates,” the report said.
Khamenei also appointed successors within his military command structure to ensure continuity if additional senior officials are killed.
This comes after the elimination of Saeed Izadi, commander of the Palestine Corps, which was confirmed by the Israel Defence Forces.
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