{"id":1741,"date":"2025-06-27T03:25:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T03:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1741"},"modified":"2025-06-27T03:25:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T03:25:56","slug":"irans-khamenei-blasts-u-s-israeli-strikes-with-defiant-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1741","title":{"rendered":"Iran&#8217;s Khamenei Blasts U.S., Israeli Strikes With Defiant Message"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>Iran<\/strong>\u2019s message to the <strong>United States<\/strong> and <strong>Israel<\/strong>, <strong>Europe<\/strong>\u2019s security threats, and barriers to aid entering <strong>Gaza<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>\u2018A Slap to America\u2019s Face\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued his <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/israel-iran-war-nuclear-06-26-2025-d09bf2282deea3b2edd63f29c867c058\">first public statement<\/a> on Thursday following Tehran and Israel ending their 12-day conflict. In a prerecorded message that aired on Iranian state television, Khamenei downplayed the United States\u2019 recent strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities, declared victory over Iran\u2019s adversaries, and warned against further U.S. and Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at <strong>Iran<\/strong>\u2019s message to the <strong>United States<\/strong> and <strong>Israel<\/strong>, <strong>Europe<\/strong>\u2019s security threats, and barriers to aid entering <strong>Gaza<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>\u2018A Slap to America\u2019s Face\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued his <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/israel-iran-war-nuclear-06-26-2025-d09bf2282deea3b2edd63f29c867c058\">first public statement<\/a> on Thursday following Tehran and Israel ending their 12-day conflict. In a prerecorded message that aired on Iranian state television, Khamenei downplayed the United States\u2019 recent strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities, declared victory over Iran\u2019s adversaries, and warned against further U.S. and Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Tehran \u201cdelivered a slap to America\u2019s face\u201d by attacking a U.S. air base in Qatar, Khamenei said, adding that should any future aggression occur, \u201cthe enemy will definitely pay a heavy price.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that Washington \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/21\/trump-iran-speech-transcript-full-text-us-nuclear-strikes-bombing-fordow\/\">completely and totally obliterated<\/a>\u201d Iran\u2019s key nuclear facilities during a weekend attack. However, Khamenei on Thursday disputed this claim, saying the U.S. leader \u201cexaggerated\u201d the operation\u2019s success. \u201cThey could not achieve anything significant,\u201d Khamenei added, though he did not specify the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/26\/world\/middleeast\/iran-leader-khamenei-statement.html\">current status<\/a> of Tehran\u2019s uranium enrichment capabilities, which he maintains are vital for civilian purposes.<\/p>\n<p>CIA Director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday that the strikes \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/25\/us\/politics\/trump-iran-nuclear.html\">severely damaged<\/a>\u201d Iran\u2019s nuclear program, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Rafael Grossi reiterated that the damage done by U.S. and Israeli strikes was \u201cvery, very, very considerable,\u201d though he stipulated to French broadcaster RFI that using the word \u201c\u2018annihilated\u2019 is too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Khamenei on Thursday also heralded the success of Iran\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/23\/iran-attacks-us-base-qatar-al-udeid-missiles-nato-summit\/\">retaliatory strike<\/a> on the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday. Trump had previously characterized the attack as limited, saying no casualties occurred. However, the Iranian leader said the operation was significant, as it showed that Tehran \u201chas access to important U.S. centers in the region and can act against them whenever it deems necessary.\u201d Al Udeid Air Base is the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Khamenei\u2019s words on Thursday were defiant, but some observers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/06\/26\/iran-israel-ceasefire-khamenei-iaea\/\">noted<\/a> that the 86-year-old leader\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AlArabiya_Eng\/status\/1938200614682411336\">tone<\/a> seemed tired and somber. Both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested throughout the conflict that Khamenei was not immune from their strikes, with Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/114699610769479275\">posting<\/a> on Truth Social last week: \u201cWe know exactly where the so-called \u2018Supreme Leader\u2019 is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there\u2014We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their threats forced Khamenei into hiding for nearly two weeks, with Iranian officials revealing that at one point, he was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/21\/world\/middleeast\/iran-ayatollah-israel-war.html\">sheltering in a bunker<\/a>. The 12-day tit-for-tat killed at least 28 people in Israel and more than 600 people in Iran, according to each nation\u2019s authorities, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Trump on Wednesday said the United States will hold nuclear talks with Iranian officials next week, though Khamenei has not publicly acknowledged this, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kathrynw5\/status\/1938285652648317231\">said<\/a> on Thursday that no meeting has been scheduled as of now. In the meantime, Iran\u2019s Guardian Council <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/6\/26\/iran-moves-to-suspend-cooperation-with-un-nuclear-watchdog\">approved<\/a> a parliamentary bill on Thursday ordering the country to suspend cooperation with the IAEA \u201cuntil the security of [Iran\u2019s] nuclear facilities is ensured.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The IAEA failed to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2025\/6\/26\/headlines\/irans_supreme_leader_claims_victory_over_israel_in_first_public_remarks_since_ceasefire\">even superficially<\/a>\u201d condemn Israeli and U.S. attacks on its facilities, Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday, alleging that the agency also shared information on its nuclear sites with Israel.<\/p>\n<p>As the status of Iran\u2019s nuclear program slowly unfolds, Tehran is reportedly stepping up its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/iran-turns-internal-crackdown-wake-12-day-war-2025-06-25\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=062625&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">internal security crackdown<\/a> with mass arrests, executions, and military deployments. Officials told Reuters that Iran is focused on the threat of possible unrest, particularly in Kurdish areas.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Following<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Security concerns. <\/strong>European Union leaders <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/eu-summit-ukraine-tariffs-mideast-fe37c213eb72f7f1589840387db5a7a1\">convened<\/a> in Brussels on Thursday to discuss how best to address the Russia-Ukraine war, after a two-day NATO summit in The Hague placed Kyiv\u2019s membership bid <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/25\/nato-summit-defense-spending-public-approval\/\">largely on the back burner<\/a>. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was sidelined from the main NATO meeting, but he video-conferenced in for the Brussels gathering.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday\u2019s agenda focused on approving Europe\u2019s 18th round of sanctions against Moscow as well as deciding whether to maintain a price cap on Russian oil, which some argue could raise global energy prices. The European Council also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2025\/jun\/26\/european-council-brussels-meeting-ukraine-middle-east-defence-migration-eu-enlargement-europe-latest-updates-news?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-685cf3408f08419b37754862#block-685cf3408f08419b37754862\">planned to address<\/a> NATO\u2019s recent decision to increase the minimum defense spending requirement to <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/25\/nato-summit-trump-defense-spending-5-percent-spain-rutte\/\">5 percent<\/a> of a nation\u2019s GDP, Moldova\u2019s bid to join the European Union, and instability in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Defense and security remain a top concern for leaders across the region. On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/uk-nuclear-weapons-f35-jets-nato-c8b609a34c84ba7b5d786307f141bb01?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire_26%20Jun_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">announced<\/a> that the United Kingdom plans to purchase 12 U.S.-made F-35A fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons. London called it \u201cthe biggest strengthening of the U.K.\u2019s nuclear posture in a generation.\u201d Only three NATO nations\u2014the United Kingdom, the United States, and France\u2014are nuclear powers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aid blocks for Gaza. <\/strong>Israel has suspended aid deliveries into Gaza for the next two days, Israeli officials told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/israeli-attacks-kill-least-21-people-gaza-medics-say-2025-06-26\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=062625&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">Reuters<\/a> on Thursday, citing efforts to prevent Hamas from seizing humanitarian supplies. A United Nations source confirmed the lack of deliveries into northern Gaza to Reuters, but Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer maintains that aid is entering the territory from the south.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/naftalibennett\/status\/1937967384515551505\">posted<\/a> a video on X showing dozens of masked men, some of whom carried rifles, riding aid trucks. He claimed that the individuals were Hamas members trying to steal food, but local officials argue that the men were just guarding the supplies. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz appeared to capitalize on the footage, ordering Israel\u2019s military late Wednesday to formulate a plan on how to prevent Hamas from taking civilian aid.<\/p>\n<p>Much of Gaza\u2019s population remains at risk of hunger, and Israeli strikes <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/israel-hamas-war-gaza-06-25-2025-fa3d0a63c2b78a2e95984f1122b89317\">continue to batter<\/a> the territory. But Trump claimed on Wednesday that U.S. strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear sites helped spur <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/clylzlv91pro?utm_source=semafor\">cease-fire negotiations<\/a> for the war in Gaza. \u201cI think great progress is being made on Gaza \u2026 because of this attack that we made,\u201d Trump told reporters. \u201cI think we\u2019re going to have some very good news.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Burial site. <\/strong>A South African court <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/zambia-lungu-funeral-hichilema-e1d958b11767f09ef37c994c3836e527?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire_26%20Jun_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">temporarily blocked<\/a> the private burial of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu in South Africa on Wednesday, ruling that the late leader cannot be buried until the case over where his final resting place should be concludes. The last-minute ruling occurred the same day that Lungu\u2019s relatives were set to hold his funeral.<\/p>\n<p>The Zambian government wants Lungu to have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c5yg23nj62go\">state funeral<\/a>, with current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema presiding over it. Such a practice would \u201censure that all Zambian citizens can pay their respects in a dignified and appropriate way,\u201d Zambian Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha said, adding that state interests take priority over personal desires and that all other Zambian presidents have been buried at a designated site in the capital city of Lusaka.<\/p>\n<p>However, Lungu\u2019s family has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/south-african-court-halts-burial-zambias-ex-president-lungu-2025-06-25\/\">refused this demand<\/a> due to a long-running political feud with the current leader, adding that they do not want Hichilema to attend. Already, Lungu\u2019s funeral has been canceled twice over this disagreement. Lungu died on June 5 at age 68 of an undisclosed illness.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Odds and Ends<\/h3>\n<p>Father Zareh Ashuryan, a spokesperson for the head of the Armenian Church, <a href=\"https:\/\/oc-media.org\/pashinyan-offers-to-show-his-penis-to-head-of-armenian-church\/\">accused<\/a> Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday of being circumcised and implying that he was therefore not a Christian\u2014a scathing accusation in a country where around 94 percent of the population identifies as Armenian Orthodox. He went on to compare Pashinyan to Judas, Jesus\u2019s apostle who is best known for betraying him. In response, Pashinyan publicly offered to show church officials his penis to prove his devoutness and later <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nikol.pashinyan\/posts\/pfbid064AAkhwcV54ZQZ4tR6tG1jbJLumyrqh3M9HUriKpHbrwpkWZ76XAEvWXRvmUa142l\">reiterated his accusation<\/a> that Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Church, had broken his celibacy, which is forbidden for a person in that role.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/26\/khamenei-iran-strikes-us-israel-nuclear-weapons-iaea\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at Iran\u2019s message to the United States and Israel, Europe\u2019s security threats, and barriers to aid entering Gaza. \u2018A Slap to America\u2019s Face\u2019 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued his first public statement on Thursday following Tehran and Israel ending their 12-day conflict. In a prerecorded [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}