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The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reappeared publicly this Wednesday, after several days of silence, to "celebrate" what he called a "victory of the Islamic Republic" over the United States and Israel after twelve days of intense clashes in the region.
Khamenei stated that Iran had dealt "a hard blow" to the United States by attacking and damaging the Al-Udeid air base, located in Qatar and considered a strategic facility for US operations in the Middle East.
Read more: Iran confirms attacks on US bases in the Middle East
“The Islamic Republic dealt a harsh blow to the United States. It attacked and damaged the Al-Udeid air base, one of the key US bases in the region,” wrote the Iranian leader.
Khamenei also asserted that the direct entry of the United States into the conflict did not achieve its goal of protecting Israel, whom he described as a "Zionist regime practically knocked out and crushed" under Iranian attacks.“The American regime entered the war directly because it believed that, if it didn't, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. It entered the war to try to save it, but it achieved nothing,” he stated.
These statements come after an unprecedented escalation between Iran and Israel, which included cross-attacks with missiles and drones, and culminated in a joint operation by the United States and Israel that, according to Western sources, would have caused significant damage to at least three Iranian nuclear facilities. While the international community calls for restraint and a return to diplomacy, Khamenei redoubles his discourse of resistance and celebrates what his regime presents as a demonstration of strength against its historical enemies. However, the director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, stated this Wednesday that the US intelligence agency obtained "a set of credible evidence" indicating that the Iranian nuclear program suffered severe damage after the attacks recently launched by the United States. According to the official statement, the information comes from traditionally reliable sources and suggests that several key facilities were destroyed and that their reconstruction could take years.
