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Supreme leader, in first appearance since ceasefire, says Iran would strike back if attacked
Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday, in his first televised remarks since a ceasefire was reached between Iran and Israel. Khamenei, 86, said any attack on Iran would come at "grea
Supreme leader, in first appearance since ceasefire, says Iran would strike back if attacked
REUTERS
Published :
Jun 26, 2025 18:30
Updated :
Jun 26, 2025 18:30
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message, after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2025. Photo : Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday, in his first televised remarks since a ceasefire was reached between Iran and Israel.
Khamenei, 86, said any attack on Iran would come at "great cost", and noted that Iran had fired on the largest US base in the region, located in Qatar, after Washington joined the Israeli strikes.
"The Islamic Republic slapped America in the face. It attacked one of the important American bases in the region," Khamenei said.
His pre-recorded remarks were aired on state television. As in 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.
"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 added.
US President Donald Trump said "Sure" on Wednesday when asked if the United States would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment programme.
REUTERS
Published :
Jun 26, 2025 18:30
Updated :
Jun 26, 2025 18:30
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a televised message, after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, in Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2025. Photo : Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking American military bases in the Middle East, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday, in his first televised remarks since a ceasefire was reached between Iran and Israel.
Khamenei, 86, said any attack on Iran would come at "great cost", and noted that Iran had fired on the largest US base in the region, located in Qatar, after Washington joined the Israeli strikes.
"The Islamic Republic slapped America in the face. It attacked one of the important American bases in the region," Khamenei said.
His pre-recorded remarks were aired on state television. As in 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.
"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 added.
US President Donald Trump said "Sure" on Wednesday when asked if the United States would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment programme.
Saif
Senior Member
- 13,589
- 7,382
- Origin
- Axis Group
Iran turns to internal crackdown in wake of 12-day war
Iranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass arrests, executions and military deployments, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, officials and activists said. Within days of Israel's airstrikes beginnin
Iran turns to internal crackdown in wake of 12-day war
REUTERS
Published :
Jun 26, 2025 17:02
Updated :
Jun 26, 2025 17:02
People walk near a mural of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, June 23, 2025. Photo : Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/ Files
Iranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass arrests, executions and military deployments, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, officials and activists said.
Within days of Israel's airstrikes beginning on June 13, Iranian security forces started a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints, the officials and activists said.
Some in Israel and exiled opposition groups had hoped the military campaign, which targeted Revolutionary Guards and internal security forces as well as nuclear sites, would spark a mass uprising and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
While Reuters has spoken to numerous Iranians angry at the government for policies they believed had led to the Israeli attack, there has been no sign yet of any significant protests against the authorities.
However, one senior Iranian security official and two other senior officials briefed on internal security issues said the authorities were focused on the threat of possible internal unrest, particularly in Kurdish areas.
Revolutionary Guard and Basij paramilitary units were put on alert and internal security was now the primary focus, said the senior security official.
The official said authorities were worried about Israeli agents, ethnic separatists and the People's Mujahideen Organisation, an exiled opposition group that has previously staged attacks inside Iran.
Activists within the country are lying low.
"We are being extremely cautious right now because there's a real concern the regime might use this situation as a pretext," said a rights activist in Tehran who was jailed during mass protests in 2022.
The activist said he knew dozens of people who had been summoned by authorities and either arrested or warned against any expressions of dissent.
Iranian rights group HRNA said on Monday it had recorded arrests of 705 people on political or security charges since the start of the war.
The Palestinian health ministry said another seven were wounded in the burst of violence in Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah.
Many of those arrested have been accused of spying for Israel, HRNA said. Iranian state media reported three were executed on Tuesday in Urmia, near the Turkish border, and the Iranian-Kurdish rights group Hengaw said they were all Kurdish.
Iran's Foreign and Interior Ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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One of the officials briefed on security said troops had been deployed to the borders of Pakistan, Iraq and Azerbaijan to stop infiltration by what the official called terrorists. The other official briefed on security acknowledged that hundreds had been arrested.
Iran's mostly Sunni Muslim Kurdish and Baluch minorities have long been a source of opposition to the Islamic Republic, chafing against rule from the Persian-speaking, Shi'ite government in Tehran.
The three main Iranian Kurdish separatist factions based in Iraqi Kurdistan said some of their activists and fighters had been arrested and described widespread military and security movements by Iranian authorities.
Ribaz Khalili from the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) said Revolutionary Guards units had deployed in schools in Iran's Kurdish provinces within three days of Israel's strikes beginning and gone house-to-house for suspects and arms.
The Guards had taken protective measures too, evacuating an industrial zone near their barracks and closing major roads for their own use in bringing reinforcements to Kermanshah and Sanandaj, two major cities in the Kurdish region.
A cadre from the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), who gave her nom de guerre of Fatma Ahmed, said the party had counted more than 500 opposition members being detained in Kurdish provinces since the airstrikes began.
Ahmed and an official from the Kurdish Komala party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, both described checkpoints being set up across Kurdish areas with physical searches of people as well as checks of their phones and documents.
REUTERS
Published :
Jun 26, 2025 17:02
Updated :
Jun 26, 2025 17:02
People walk near a mural of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Tehran, Iran, June 23, 2025. Photo : Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/ Files
Iranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass arrests, executions and military deployments, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, officials and activists said.
Within days of Israel's airstrikes beginning on June 13, Iranian security forces started a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints, the officials and activists said.
Some in Israel and exiled opposition groups had hoped the military campaign, which targeted Revolutionary Guards and internal security forces as well as nuclear sites, would spark a mass uprising and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
While Reuters has spoken to numerous Iranians angry at the government for policies they believed had led to the Israeli attack, there has been no sign yet of any significant protests against the authorities.
However, one senior Iranian security official and two other senior officials briefed on internal security issues said the authorities were focused on the threat of possible internal unrest, particularly in Kurdish areas.
Revolutionary Guard and Basij paramilitary units were put on alert and internal security was now the primary focus, said the senior security official.
The official said authorities were worried about Israeli agents, ethnic separatists and the People's Mujahideen Organisation, an exiled opposition group that has previously staged attacks inside Iran.
Activists within the country are lying low.
"We are being extremely cautious right now because there's a real concern the regime might use this situation as a pretext," said a rights activist in Tehran who was jailed during mass protests in 2022.
The activist said he knew dozens of people who had been summoned by authorities and either arrested or warned against any expressions of dissent.
Iranian rights group HRNA said on Monday it had recorded arrests of 705 people on political or security charges since the start of the war.
The Palestinian health ministry said another seven were wounded in the burst of violence in Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah.
Many of those arrested have been accused of spying for Israel, HRNA said. Iranian state media reported three were executed on Tuesday in Urmia, near the Turkish border, and the Iranian-Kurdish rights group Hengaw said they were all Kurdish.
Iran's Foreign and Interior Ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
CHECKPOINTS AND SEARCHES
One of the officials briefed on security said troops had been deployed to the borders of Pakistan, Iraq and Azerbaijan to stop infiltration by what the official called terrorists. The other official briefed on security acknowledged that hundreds had been arrested.
Iran's mostly Sunni Muslim Kurdish and Baluch minorities have long been a source of opposition to the Islamic Republic, chafing against rule from the Persian-speaking, Shi'ite government in Tehran.
The three main Iranian Kurdish separatist factions based in Iraqi Kurdistan said some of their activists and fighters had been arrested and described widespread military and security movements by Iranian authorities.
Ribaz Khalili from the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) said Revolutionary Guards units had deployed in schools in Iran's Kurdish provinces within three days of Israel's strikes beginning and gone house-to-house for suspects and arms.
The Guards had taken protective measures too, evacuating an industrial zone near their barracks and closing major roads for their own use in bringing reinforcements to Kermanshah and Sanandaj, two major cities in the Kurdish region.
A cadre from the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), who gave her nom de guerre of Fatma Ahmed, said the party had counted more than 500 opposition members being detained in Kurdish provinces since the airstrikes began.
Ahmed and an official from the Kurdish Komala party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, both described checkpoints being set up across Kurdish areas with physical searches of people as well as checks of their phones and documents.
Saif
Senior Member
- 13,589
- 7,382
- Origin
- Axis Group
Trump sought to minimise impact of Iran attack on US base: Khamenei
Khamenei said the attack "caused damage", while Trump has shrugged it off as "very weak". No casualties were reported at the base.
en.prothomalo.com
Trump sought to minimise impact of Iran attack on US base: Khamenei
AFP Tehran
Published: 26 Jun 2025, 20: 53
This image grab from a handout video provided by Iran Press on October 4, 2024, shows Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivering a rare Friday sermon at a mosque in Tehran after the Islamic republic had launched a missile attack on Israel. Reuters
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that US President Donald Trump had sought to "minimise" the impact of Iran's retaliatory strikes on a US base in Qatar.
Trump "tried... to pretend that nothing had happened, when a major event had occurred", Khamenei said in a televised speech on state TV of Iran's attack on Monday on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar -- the largest US military facility in the Middle East.
Khamenei said the attack "caused damage", while Trump has shrugged it off as "very weak". No casualties were reported at the base.
AFP Tehran
Published: 26 Jun 2025, 20: 53
This image grab from a handout video provided by Iran Press on October 4, 2024, shows Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivering a rare Friday sermon at a mosque in Tehran after the Islamic republic had launched a missile attack on Israel. Reuters
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that US President Donald Trump had sought to "minimise" the impact of Iran's retaliatory strikes on a US base in Qatar.
Trump "tried... to pretend that nothing had happened, when a major event had occurred", Khamenei said in a televised speech on state TV of Iran's attack on Monday on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar -- the largest US military facility in the Middle East.
Khamenei said the attack "caused damage", while Trump has shrugged it off as "very weak". No casualties were reported at the base.
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