Leader Congratulates Nation on Victory, Says Iran Crushed Zionist Regime

In a televised message, the third since June 13 when the Israeli regime launched its unprovoked aggression against the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Zionist regime was crushed under the blows of the Iranian armed forces.

“I feel it is necessary to extend several congratulations to the great Iranian nation. First, congratulations on the victory over the fake Zionist regime. Despite all its noise and claims, the Zionist regime was nearly brought to its knees and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” the Leader stated.

He paid tribute to the martyrs of the recent events, including senior military commanders and scientists, whom he described as “truly and rightfully valuable” to the Islamic Republic and faithful in their service until martyrdom.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the idea of the Islamic Republic being capable of delivering such devastating strikes had never even crossed the enemy’s mind, but it did happen.

“We thank God for aiding our armed forces, who managed to breach their advanced multilayered defense systems and flatten large parts of their military and urban centers with powerful missile and weapons strikes,” he said.

Ayatollah Khamenei said it proves to the Zionist regime that aggression against the Islamic Republic comes with a high cost that it will have to pay, crediting both the armed forces and the people of the Islamic Republic for the glorious victory.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution also congratulated the nation on the victory against the United States, which carried out an unprovoked aggression against Iranian nuclear sites and received massive retaliation in the form of missile strikes on its biggest military base in the West Asia region – in Qatar.

“The US entered the war directly because it feared that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed,” the Leader said. It intervened to save them but gained nothing from the war.”

He said the Americans attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, an act that calls for legal prosecution in international courts.

Referring to the bluster of US President Donald Trump after the aggression and Iran's powerful retaliation, the Leader said the US president unusually exaggerated events, clearly showing how badly he needed to create a narrative.

“Anyone who heard his remarks could sense that behind those words lay a very different truth,” he said. “They failed to achieve their objectives, and they inflated their claims to conceal the reality.”

“Here, too, the Islamic Republic emerged victorious, delivering a harsh blow to the US, specifically targeting the Al Udeid base, one of its key regional bases, and inflicting damage,” he asserted.

“The same people who had exaggerated their own actions tried to downplay this strike, claiming nothing had happened, when in fact, something major had occurred.”

Leader of the Islamic Republic added that the fact that the Islamic Republic can access vital American facilities in the region and strike them when deemed necessary is no small matter.

“It’s a major development and it can happen again in the future,” he warned. “If aggression is repeated, the enemy will undoubtedly face a heavy cost.”

In the third part of the message, Ayatollah Khamenei hailed the “extraordinary unity and solidarity displayed by the Iranian nation amid the Israeli-American aggression.

“By God’s grace, a nation of nearly 90 million stood as one—united in voice and purpose—shoulder to shoulder, without any divisions in demands or intentions,” he said.

“They rallied, spoke out, supported the actions of the armed forces, and will continue to do so…. The Iranian nation proved its nobility and its remarkable, outstanding character.”

Leader of the Islamic Revolution said it demonstrated that in critical moments, one united voice will rise from the nation and that too has come to pass.

He also denounced the remarks made by Trump that Iran must surrender, reminding the American president of Iran’s great history and culture.

In one of his statements, the President of the United States said, “Iran must surrender.”

“Of course, such a statement is far too grand for the mouth of the US president,” the Leader remarked. A nation like Iran—with its greatness, its history, its culture, and its national will forged in steel—to speak of surrender in reference to such a country is a joke to anyone who knows the Iranian people.”

He hastened to add that the American governments have, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, been at odds with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“They’ve clashed with us time and again, each time with a different excuse—human rights, democracy, women’s rights, uranium enrichment, missile development,” the Leader said.

“But at the core, it has always been one thing: they want Iran to surrender.”

Aytaollah Khamenei said Trump’s predecessors didn’t make such assertions outright because no rational human being accepts telling a nation to surrender, so they disguised it under slogans.

“This president exposed that truth—he made clear that the Americans will only be satisfied with the total surrender of Iran, and nothing less,” the Leader stated.

“The Iranian people must know: this is why we oppose America. This is the root of the hostility, and this is the great insult the Americans direct at our nation,” he added, noting that such a thing will “never happen.”

He reminded the Americans that the Iranian people are a great nation, steeped in ancient civilization with cultural and civilizational wealth hundreds of times greater than that of America or similar nations.

“To expect a country like Iran to surrender to another is sheer nonsense—and it will surely be laughed at by every wise and sensible person,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

“The Iranian nation is honorable—and will remain honorable. It is victorious—and, by God’s grace, will continue to be victorious.”