On Friday, President Trump asserted that he prevented Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, from facing a “ugly” and “ignorant” death following a US airstrike on three Iranian nuclear facilities last Saturday.
In a lengthy post, Trump questioned Khamenei’s claims of victory over Israel, referring to them as foolish given the state of Iran. He emphasized that the country is in ruins and mentioned the destruction of the three nuclear sites. Trump remarked that he knew Khamenei’s location was secure and credited the US and Israeli military for sparing Khamenei’s life, joking that the leader ought to thank him.
Trump also remarked that Israel requested to turn back a plane that was en route to Tehran, suggesting that it might have been seeking a decisive strike, which he believes prevented further destruction.
These comments came after Khamenei’s first response to the recent strikes, where he congratulated Iran on overcoming the US administration via a post on social media. He stated that the US entered the conflict out of fear for the Zionist regime but asserted that the US achieved nothing from their involvement.
In a later post, Khamenei noted that Iran delivered a strong blow to the US by retaliating against a US Air Force base in Qatar.
Trump characterized the airstrikes as a significant success in dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, dismissing skepticism voiced by Democratic leaders regarding the effectiveness of these actions.
He mentioned that he had been considering avenues for lifting sanctions but felt compelled to abandon those discussions due to the “anger and hatred” coming from Iranian authorities.
Trump warned that the situation could worsen for Iran unless they chose to align with the global order, suggesting they would achieve better results through cooperation rather than hostility.
Despite rising tensions, Trump noted that he recently helped broker a temporary ceasefire amid ongoing conflicts between Israel and Iran. This fragile agreement was in place throughout the week following the US strikes.
During a press conference at the White House, Trump indicated that further action against Iran could be considered if intelligence reports indicated increased uranium enrichment activities.
