Iran ‘delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face’, says supreme leader
Iran’s supreme leader says his country “delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face” in his first public comments since the country’s ceasefire with Israel, brokered by the US.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday that the US “gained no achievement” when it joined the war with Israel against Tehran, his account said in a post on X.
He said:
The US regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. It entered the war in an effort to save that regime but achieved nothing.
The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face. It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region.
Tehran struck a US military base in Qatar on Monday. The attack was seen by the US as being an attempt to respond to the US’s weekend bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites without escalating the situation.
Donald Trump responded by calling the Iranian attack “very weak” and claimed to have intercepted 13 of 14 missiles fired.
In a post on X after the attack, the Qatari foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari added that “Qatar’s air defenses successfully thwarted the attack and intercepted the Iranian missiles” and there had been no casualties.
Key events
Poland’s embassy in Tehran has taken over the duties of EU countries that have evacuated their posts, the Polish foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Portugal, Ireland and Germany last week temporarily relocated their embassy staff in Tehran abroad due to the current threat situation, while Bulgaria closed its embassy in Tehran and evacuated diplomatic staff and their families to neighbouring Azerbaijan.
“We, being the country of the (EU) presidency, take over their duties,” the Polish ministry’s spokesperson Pawel Wronski told Reuters.
Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile remains largely intact following US strikes on its main nuclear sites, European capitals believe, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The newspaper, citing two people briefed on preliminary intelligence assessments, said European capitals believe Iran’s stockpile of 408 kilogram of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels was not concentrated in Fordow, one of its two main enrichment sites, at the time of last weekend’s attack.
Iranian bill to suspend cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog moves forward after body approval
The Iranian body tasked with vetting legislation approved a bill to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog on Thursday, citing recent US and Israeli strikes, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Iranian lawmakers voted in favour of the bill on Wednesday, a day after a ceasefire ended a 12-day war with Israel that saw Israeli and US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The bill, which will now be submitted to president Masoud Pezeshkian for final ratification, would allow Iran “to benefit from all the entitlements specified under… the Non-Proliferation Treaty especially with regard to uranium enrichment,” Guardian Council spokesperson Hadi Tahan Nazif said.
He told the official IRNA news agency:
The government is required to suspend all cooperation with the IAEA to ensure full respect for the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The spokesperson said the move was prompted by the “attacks… by the Zionist regime and the United States against peaceful nuclear facilities.”
Since the start of the war on June 13, Iranian officials have sharply criticised the International Atomic Energy Agency for failing to condemn the strikes. Iran has also criticised the watchdog for passing a resolution on June 12 accusing it of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations.
Iranian officials say the censure motion was “one of the main excuses” for the Israeli and US attacks.
Key Tehran ally Moscow had earlier spoken out against the move to suspend coooperation with the IAEA.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference:
We are interested in continuing cooperation between Iran and the IAEA, so that everybody respects Iran’s repeated statements that Iran does not have and will not have plans to develop a nuclear weapon.
Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X that cooperation with the watchdog was “not possible” at this time until security at Iran’s nuclear facilities “is ensured.”
Israel launched a major bombing campaign on June 13 that targeted Iranian nuclear and military facilities and killed top scientists and commanders.
On Sunday, Israel’s ally the United States launched unprecedented strikes of its own on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.
US president Donald Trump says nothing was moved from an Iranian nuclear facility, echoing his defense secretary who earlier on Thursday said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved its uranium to shield it from US strikes over the weekend.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social:
The cars and small trucks at the site were those of concrete workers trying to cover up the top of the shafts.
Nothing was taken out of facility. Would take too long, too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!
The president did not provide any evidence for his claim in the post.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier on Thursday:
I’m not aware of any intelligence that I’ve reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise.
Israeli source tells Reuters that aid to Gaza halted for two days
An anonymous Israeli government official has told Reuters that Israel has halted aid supplies to Gaza for two days to prevent them being seized by Hamas, after images circulated of masked men on aid trucks whom clan leaders said were protecting aid, not diverting it to the militants.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with defense minister Israel Katz, said late on Wednesday that he had ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid.
The decision was reportedly made after Netanyahu and Katz cited new information indicating that Hamas was seizing aid intended for civilians in northern Gaza.
The claim has not yet been formally confirmed by the Israeli government.
The statement did not disclose the information but a video circulating on Wednesday showed dozens of masked men, some armed with rifles but most carrying sticks, riding on aid trucks.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that aid deliveries had been temporarily suspended for two days to allow the military time to develop a new plan.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli prime minister’s office, the defense ministry or the Israeli military.
The Higher Commission for Tribal Affairs, which represents influential clans in the territory, said that trucks had been protected as part of an aid security process managed “solely through tribal efforts”.
The commission said that no Palestinian faction, a reference to Hamas, had taken part in the process.
Throughout the war, numerous clans, civil society groups and factions – including Hamas’ secular political rival Fatah – have stepped in to help provide security for the aid convoys.
Clans made up of extended families connected through blood and marriage have long been a fundamental part of Gazan society.
Patrick Wintour
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has threatened to respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East, in his first public comments since a ceasefire with Israel was declared.
The 86-year-old, who has not been seen in public since taking shelter in a secret location after the outbreak of the war on 13 June, said his country had “delivered a slap to America’s face” – a reference to an Iranian missile attack on a US base in Qatar on Monday, which caused no casualties.
In pre-recorded remarks that were aired on state television, he hailed his country’s “victory” over Israel and vowed never to surrender to the US.
As was also the case with his last comments, released more than a week ago during the 12-day Israeli bombardment, he spoke from an undisclosed indoor location in front of a brown curtain, between an Iranian flag and a portrait of his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini.
In a message to the Iranian people, he said Donald Trump’s demand for Iran’s unconditional surrender at the start of the conflict had revealed America’s true agenda.
“The fact that the Islamic republic has access to important American centres in the region and can take action against them whenever it deems necessary is not a small incident, it is a major incident, and this incident can be repeated in the future if an attack is made,” he said. “America entered the war directly because it felt that if it did not, Israel would be completely destroyed. Here, too, the Islamic republic emerged victorious.”
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked a court on Thursday to postpone his testimony in his long-running corruption trial in light of “regional and global developments”.
“The court is respectfully requested to order the cancellation of the hearings in which the prime minister was scheduled to testify in the coming two weeks,” Netanyahu’s lawyer said in a filing.
He said the premier was “compelled to devote all his time and energy to managing national, diplomatic and security issues of the utmost importance” following a brief conflict with Iran and during ongoing fighting in Gaza where Israeli hostages are held.
It comes as US president Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Israel to pardon Netanyahu or cancel his corruption trial, saying the US would save him like it did his country.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth is holding a morning news conference to respond to an early leaked intelligence report suggesting US strikes against Iran likely put the country back mere months.
President Donald Trump has insisted the US strikes delivered a “devastating” attack and that questioning his assessment of the strike was not only unpatriotic but also makes the pilots who dropped the bombs “very upset.”
The news conference began with Hegseth, a former Fox News host, criticising the media for “hunting for scandals all the time.”
He accused reporters of failing to acknowledge “historic moments” like improved military recruiting and increased spending on European defense by US allies on the continent.
He then shifted to attacking the “fake news” for reporting on a preliminary assessment about the impact of recent US strikes on Iran.
Summary of the day so far
Thursday saw Iran’s supreme leader making his first public comments since the country’s ceasefire with Israel, brokered by the US.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country “delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face” and that the US “gained no achievement” when it joined the war with Israel against Tehran.
He added that Iran had access to “key” US bases in the region and could take action “whenever it deems necessary”.
Referring to US president Donald Trump, who had claimed to have “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme, Khamenei said that he “exaggerated events in unusual ways, and it turned out that he needed this exaggeration – anyone who has heard these words has understood that there is another truth behind these words”.
In other developments:
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Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would continue to work with US president Donald Trump to “defeat our common enemies, free our hostages, and quickly expand the circle of peace”. Netanyahu posted the message with a picture of himself and Trump holding hands shortly after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave his first speech since Iran and Israel reached a ceasefire.
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Israel’s national security minister called for a “complete halt” of humanitarian aid to Gaza on Thursday, claiming that Hamas is taking control of the supplied goods and food. Itamar Ben-Gvir says that he will “demand” Benjamin Netanyahu put a new vote to the country’s cabinet on the issue of the introduction of aid to Gaza.
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Rescuers in Gaza said Israeli forces killed 35 people in the territory on Thursday, including four who they said were waiting to collect aid. Local health authorities said earlier in the day that an Israeli airstrike killed at least nine people at a school housing displaced families in the Sheikh Radwan suburb in Gaza City, while another strike killed nine people near a tent encampment in Khan Younis in the south of the enclave.
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Trump’s administration ratcheted up its defence of the US’s weekend attacks on Iran, citing “new intelligence” to support its initial claim of complete success and criticising a leaked intelligence assessment that suggested Tehran’s nuclear programme had been set back by only a few months. The growing row came amid reports that the White House will to try to limit the sharing of classified documents with Congress, according to the Washington Post and the Associated Press.
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US senators are set to meet with top national security officials on Thursday as many question president Donald Trump’s decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites — and whether those strikes were ultimately successful. The classified briefing, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday and was delayed, also comes as the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval if Trump decides to strike Iran again.
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Trump has weighed in on ally Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial, saying in a social media post that the trial was a “witch hunt” and should be cancelled. The US president, who himself has faced an array of criminal charges and convictions that he argued were politically motivated, said he had “just learned that Bibi has been summoned to court on Monday” and also suggested a pardon for the “great hero”.
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Iran’s parliament approved a bill on Wednesday to suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf was quoted by state media as saying Iran would accelerate its civilian nuclear programme. The move came after UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said there was a chance that much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium survived Israeli and US attacks because it may have been moved by Tehran soon after the first strikes.
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Trump said the US will hold talks with Iran next week, with a possible agreement on the table about Tehran’s nuclear programme.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has defended the US’s decision to bomb Iran, saying it was “about time” someone acted to stop Iran getting nuclear weapons.
The comments came after independent MP Ayoub Khan said on Thursday that although all MPs agreed Iran should not have nuclear weapons, the attack on Iran by Israel and the US did not engage the Caroline principle, the test under international law allowing a pre-emptive military attack. He asked if Starmer agreed, and if he would say he supported the attack.
Starmer said in response:
If we all agree that Iran shouldn’t have nuclear weapons, it’s about time we did something about it. And what happened on Saturday night was a big step towards alleviating that threat, and that is really important.
I think we now need to complete on that, and the way to compete on that is with the talks that are needed to get Iran back to the table to make sure it’s irreversible and that it can be verified.
Netanyahu will continue to work with Trump to defeat ‘common enemies’
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he would continue to work with US president Donald Trump to “defeat our common enemies, free our hostages, and quickly expand the circle of peace”.
He said in a post on X:
Thank you, President Trump, for your moving support for me and your tremendous support for Israel and the Jewish people.
We will continue to work together to defeat our common enemies, free our hostages, and quickly expand the circle of peace.
Netanyahu posted the message with a picture of himself and Trump holding hands shortly after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave his first speech since Iran and Israel reached a ceasefire.
The supreme leader said in a televised speech aired by state TV on Thursday:
“They attacked our nuclear facilities, which of course would merit criminal prosecution in international courts, but they did nothing significant,” Khamenei said in a televised speech aired by state TV.
He said “nothing significant” occurred to nuclear sites struck by the United States earlier this week, during a war with Israel, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Referring to US president Donald Trump, who had claimed to have “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme, Khamenei said that he “exaggerated events in unusual ways, and it turned out that he needed this exaggeration – anyone who has heard these words has understood that there is another truth behind these words”.
He added:
The American president indicated in one of his statements that Iran must surrender. Surrender! It is no longer a question of enrichment, nor of the nuclear industry, but of the surrender of Iran,” said Khamenei in a televised speech.
Such an event (surrender) will never happen. It will never happen.