Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appeared in a recorded televised address on June 26, following the Iran-Israel ceasefire, hailing what he described as Iran’s victory over the "fake regime” of Israel.

Iran and Israel had been embroiled in a 12-day conflict, which concluded with a ceasefire on June 24. The truce was announced by US President Donald Trump shortly after Iran launched missile strikes on a US base in Qatar in retaliation for American attacks on three of Iran’s major nuclear facilities.

“With all the noise and posturing, the Zionist regime was virtually worn out and crushed by the blows of the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said.

He also extended his congratulations to the Iranian people, claiming a simultaneous triumph over the United States, adding that the US had entered the conflict directly out of fear that Israel would otherwise face total destruction. “And yet, it gained nothing from this war,” he added.

“Here as well, the Islamic Republic emerged victorious and delivered a stinging blow to the United States,” he said.  Ayatollah Khamenei stated that the third commendation was for the unity and remarkable consensus demonstrated by the Iranian nation.

“A nation of nearly 90 mn, united and speaking with one voice … with no divergence in their demands or declared aims, stood firm, chanted slogans, and expressed unwavering support for the actions of the armed forces, he said, affirming this solidarity would continue in the future.

The Iranian people displayed their magnanimity, as well as their distinguished and exceptional character, proving that when the moment demands it, a single unified voice will indeed rise from this nation.

Khamenei also referenced President Trump’s remarks in which he demanded Iran’s “complete surrender,” stating that such words were “too grandiose for the mouth of the American President.”

He argued that this rhetoric exposed the true objective behind the US' longstanding hostility towards the Islamic Republic, an agenda that has been pursued under various pretexts, including uranium enrichment. “This is no longer a matter of enrichment or the nuclear industry; it is a matter of Iran’s surrender,” he said.

Khamenei asserted that Trump had inadvertently laid bare the reality that the US would accept nothing short of Iran’s complete surrender. “To imagine that the Iranian nation would ever surrender to another country is utter nonsense, a delusion that wise and discerning people would undoubtedly dismiss with ridicule,” he concluded.