In an unexpected statement on Thursday, Iran’s Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the “malicious enemy” has been defeated with “a decisive blow” to the US, in a possible signal of preparing the Iranian nation for an impending peace deal.
Iran’s Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei delivered an unexpected proclamation of Iranian victory in the war with the US on Israel, stating that “the malicious enemy has been defeated in confrontation with Iran’s armed forces.”
In a statement read out on Thursday during the ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Republic’s founder Ruhollah Khomeini’s death, Khamenei said, “I tell the dear Iranian nation that the malicious enemy … is now experiencing a profound and meaningful humiliation, both on the military battlefield and in the public arena and it is now focused on trickery.”
Khamenei’s unexpected statement may signal an approaching peace deal, for which he appears to be preparing the Iranian nation, while also calling for its unity.
“The system of domination, which created a garrison called Israel nearly 80 years ago, does not accept the existence of a strong and independent Iran, endowed with various advantages, on the eastern frontier of the false and fictitious geography of ‘Greater Israel’ — east of the Euphrates,” The ayatollah’s statement warned.
Khamenei has not appeared in public since the war began. US media reported, citing multiple Iranian officials, that he sustained serious injuries in the strikes, underwent multiple surgeries and has difficulty speaking due to severe burns.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was “likely disfigured.” Iran has not confirmed the reports. He has communicated only through written statements since taking office.
In his written statement on Wednesday, Khamenei said that “the enemy … focused its efforts in a hybrid war on two areas: the resilience of the people and creating errors in the calculations of the country’s officials.“
“After Iran was able to repel the enemy, who was defeated on the battlefield, it now seeks to undermine the resilience of the Iranian people and sow discord,” the younger Khamenei warned the Iranian people.
“Everyone must neutralise the enemy’s sinister plans through steadfastness, vigilance, preserving unity and cohesion, maintaining mutual trust, and refraining from echoing the enemy’s narrative,” he said.
Khamenei has also called on Iranian officials to “support these principles”, warning them that “any action that leads to public pessimism or discouragement among the people should be regarded as a form of assistance to the enemy — assistance against this country and its people.”
Trump would ‘like to meet’ Khamenei
In a series of surprising revelations, Trump said in an interview on Tuesday that the new ayatollah was involved in negotiations with the US and the two were “getting along quite well.”
“I haven’t had the privilege of meeting him,” the US president told the New York Post. “If you believe the stories, he’s missing a lot of different parts.”
“He’s involved, absolutely. Yeah, I think they have a lot of respect for him,” Trump said on the Pod Force One podcast.
“They say he is giving approval, because that’s the way it has been for a long, long time. His father and then him, I guess it’s a succession. But we seem to be getting along quite well.”
Trump also said he was keen to meet the younger Khamenei, pending the result of the ongoing talks.
“Yeah, I’d like to meet him. I’d love to meet everybody. I would like to meet him and we probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out.”
Previously, Trump dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei as a “lightweight” and an “unacceptable” choice to lead the Islamic Republic.
Khamenei was selected as the Islamic Republic’s third supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts — the panel of Shia clerics responsible under Iranian law for appointing the position — roughly 10 days after his father’s death.
After the announcement, Trump said he was “not happy” and “disappointed,” adding, “I’m not going through this to end up with another Khamenei.”