'Almost collapsed and crushed': Khamenei claims VICTORY over Israel in first message after Israel-Iran ceasefire

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday (June 26) claimed victory over Israel, days after US President Donald Trump announced the Israel-Iran ceasefire. He congratulated the country for 'crushing Israel'.

In his first public message after the ceasefire, Khamenei said that the "Zionist regime" had almost collapsed and been crushed under the blows of Iran.

“With all that clamor, with all those claims, the Zionist regime, under the blows of the Islamic Republic, has almost collapsed and been crushed,” Khamenei said in a televised message to Iranian people posted on his official X account.

"My congratulations on our dear Iran’s victory over the US regime," the Iranian supreme leader posted on X.

He further slammed the US for entering the war, saying that America intervened because it felt that Israel would be completely destroyed.

"The US regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. It entered the war in an effort to save that regime but achieved nothing," he said.

Warning to US

Khamenei claimed that Iran attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region, adding that Iran delivered a "heavy slap to the US's face".

Khamenei further warned the US, saying that such an action "can be repeated in the future too, and America will definitely pay a heavy price.

"The fact that the Islamic Republic has access to key US centers in the region and can take action whenever it deems necessary is a significant matter. Such an action can be repeated in the future too. Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price," the Iranian leader said.

Extending congratulations to Iran, he posted, "I offer my congratulations on the victory over the fallacious Zionist regime."