Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei broke his weeklong silence Thursday, claiming in a televised speech that his country had secured a victory over Israel and delivered a “slap in the face” to Washington.
Hours earlier, Iran’s government also approved legislation to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, a move that will stymie efforts to assess the damage from U.S. airstrikes and monitor uranium enrichment.
“The Islamic Republic emerged victorious and, in return, delivered a harsh slap to America’s face,” Khamenei said after eight days of silence.
The United States had “entered a direct war” because it felt like Israel would be “completely destroyed” if it didn’t, he said, adding that “it gained nothing from this war.” Israel “had to understand that attacking Iran would come at a heavy cost and thanks to God, that’s exactly what happened,” he said.
Israel’s strikes have killed a slew of top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists. There is still debate, within the U.S. and internationally, about the extent of the damage of American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Khamenei claimed that “the Americans failed to achieve anything significant in their attack on nuclear facilities.” On assertions by President Donald Trump that Iran’s nuclear sites were “obliterated,” the supreme leader added, “It’s clear that the American president needs to exaggerate, they resort to exaggeration to cover up the truth.”
On Wednesday, the Iranian Parliament voted to suspend IAEA cooperation with only one abstention among the 223 lawmakers and none voting against it. Thursday saw the bill’s approval by the country’s powerful Guardian Council, which includes theologians selected by the supreme leader.
“Iran’s peaceful nuclear program will continue with greater speed,” Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said later. While Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the bill “is a clear response to the illegal attacks against our country.”
It would mean IAEA inspectors “will not be allowed entry into the country unless the security of nuclear sites and the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities are guaranteed,” he said. And any inspections would also be “subject to approval by the Supreme National Security Council,” he added.
It would thwart efforts by IAEA Director Rafael Grossi, who said at a news conference in Vienna on Wednesday that gaining access to Iran’s nuclear facilities was his “No. 1 priority.”
He has previously been deeply critical of the Israeli and American strikes, saying “nuclear facilities should never be attacked due to the very real risk of a serious radiological accident.”
Sifting through these damaged facilities is potentially very dangerous for his investigators, he said in Vienna.
“Going back to places that have been shelled is not like going in a normal sort of inspection,” he said. “There is rubble. There could be unexploded ordinance.”
The CIA has cited credible intelligence that Iran’s nuclear program was “severely damaged.” While a Defense Intelligence Agency initial assessment leaked Tuesday found it may have only been set back several months, less than claimed by Trump.
At a Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hailed a “historically successful strike” and criticized the media for what he said were overly negative reports of the event.
Iran says it is not trying to build a nuclear weapon, and it had been complying with the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, which most experts said was successful in limiting its program, until that was effectively axed by Trump in 2018.
After that, Iran began enriching uranium to much higher grades, more than needed for energy and approaching the potency required for a bomb, the IAEA said.
Grossi also called it “very regrettable” that Iran is reportedly considering pulling out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“I hope this is not the case,” Grossi said of Iran’s potential withdrawal. “I don’t think this would help anybody, starting with Iran,” he said. “This would lead to isolation, all sorts of problems.”
This 1970 international agreement says that any signatory is barred from developing a nuclear weapon and must be subject to IAEA inspections. Iran, which signed the deal in 1968, says it does not have nuclear weapons; Israel, which is estimated to have around 90 warheads, has never signed the pact.
Iran hard-liners in Washington and elsewhere have been pushing to impose a “zero enrichment” ban on Iran — meaning it would be prevented even from using enriched uranium for nuclear power. Iranian officials point to these arguments as reasons why the country should renege.
“If we are to remain a member of this treaty, we cannot accept only its obligations while being deprived of the rights it guarantees,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghaei said Wednesday. “These rights are clearly defined: the right to peaceful nuclear energy for non-military purposes.”
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held a call with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. “Iran is ready to cooperate in enhancing regional security and strengthening peace and stability,” Pezeshkia said, according to state media. “We support the establishment of a region free of nuclear weapons and even weapons of mass destruction.”
