Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has insisted in his first press conference since the ceasefire began that the US has gained nothing from the strikes on nuclear sites, the BBC reports.
Khamenei said the strikes had not caused significant damage that could disrupt Iran’s nuclear program and described the retaliatory strike on a US base in Qatar as severe. Meanwhile, the US continues to insist that its strikes have seriously undermined Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that intelligence collected by the US and Israel indicates that the strikes were effective and that it will take Iran several years to restore its nuclear program. Speaking at a Pentagon press conference on the morning of the 26th of June,
Hegseth said the mission had been “historically successful” and that Iran’s uranium enrichment plants had been rendered unusable.
He also said the United States had received no intelligence suggesting that uranium had been removed from Fordo.
US President Donald Trump has previously said that Iran’s nuclear facilities have been completely destroyed and has slammed those who have suggested that the damage may be much less than expected.
Iran’s supreme leader made one of his few public statements since the start of the conflict with Israel on the morning of the 26th of June. He is reported to have taken refuge in a bunker and is limiting communications, prompting speculation about Khamenei’s whereabouts. Iranian authorities have not disclosed where the announcement was made on Thursday morning. In a video message, the Iranian leader threatened to launch more strikes on US military bases in the Middle East if Iran is attacked again and declared that Iran has defeated both the US and Israel. The Iranian also pointed out that Trump had greatly exaggerated the impact of the US strikes.
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