Khamenei Claims Iran’s ‘Victory’ Against Israel

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has claimed “victory” in the conflict with Israel. He made the declaration on Thursday in a post on social media platform X.Khamenei wrote: “Congratulations on the victory against the lying Zionist regime.”This statement came two days after a ceasefire between Iran and Israel took effect. Iran’s Supreme Leader had not been seen in public for over a week. His last appearance was on June 18 when he gave a televised speech from an undisclosed location.Just hours after Khamenei’s message, the White House announced that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth would hold a press conference. President Donald Trump stated that the briefing would provide a “major update” regarding the impact of American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the press conference would be “packed with irrefutable evidence.” Senior Pentagon military officials are also expected to attend the event with Hegseth.Earlier, during a NATO summit speech, Hegseth claimed that U.S. strikes had severely damaged Iran’s nuclear capabilities. However, several reports based on U.S. intelligence sources suggest the attacks only managed to delay Iran’s nuclear program by a few months. The core components and technologies remain intact.