Betul Yilmaz
26 June 2025•Update: 26 June 2025
ISTANBUL
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed on Thursday to attack US bases in the region if Washington renewed strikes on Iranian territory.
“The fact that the Islamic Republic has access to key US centers in the region and can take action whenever it deems necessary is a significant matter,” Khamenei said in a televised speech.
“Such an action can be repeated in the future too. Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,” he added.
His remarks were his first public comment since a 12-day war between Iran and Israel came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire on June 24.
The Iranian leader claimed that Washington entered the war with Israel to prevent its complete destruction.
“Anyone who supports Israel, even if not present on the ground, bears the consequences of our responses,” he said.
Khamenei said that US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites have not achieved much.
“US President Donald Trump is trying to hide this truth,” he said.
“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,” he added.
Khamenei said that the strike on the US base in Qatar was not only a warning but rather “the beginning of an era.”
“Israel experienced its first moral defeat in the face of a resistance that hasn’t tasted a defeat before,” he said.
“Iran will not hesitate to stand against injustice and aggression, no matter how many alliances there are.”
Israel launched 12 days of airstrikes as of June 13 on military, nuclear, and civilian sites across Iran, killing at least 606 people and injuring 5,332 others, according to Iran’s Health Ministry.
Tehran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 3,400, according to figures released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The conflict came to a halt under a US-sponsored ceasefire that took effect on June 24.
