‘Iran delivered slap to America’s face’: Khamenei says Donald Trump ‘exaggerated’ impact of US strikes on nuclear sites

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday said US President Donald Trump attacked Iran because he needed to do ‘showmanship’ and warned America against any further attacks on his country as he made his first public comments after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

Speaking in a video broadcast on Iranian state television, his first appearance since June 19, Khamenei said any attack on Iran would come “great cost”.

The US had only interfered in the war between Iran and Israel because “it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed”, Khamenei told his viewers.

The US had “achieved no gains from this war", Khamenei said.

He declared that Iran was victorious in the war.

“The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a hand slap to America’s face. It attacked one of the important American bases in the region,” he said.

The supreme leader appeared to make reference to the Iranian missile attack on an American base in nearby Qatar on Monday. The attack did not cause any casualty.

He warned that “such an action can be repeated in the future, too,” adding that Iran had access to “centers in the region and can take action whenever it deems necessary.”

“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,” Khamenei said.

He warned that the US will pay a ‘heavy price’ if it decides to attack Iran again.

“Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,” Khamenei said.

Israel-Iran ceasefire

Israel and Iran entered a US-brokered ceasefire following a 12-day military conflict that saw US' entry alongside Tel Aviv as it struck three Iranian nuclear bases.

Since the Israel-Iran ceasefire, life has been gradually returning to normal in Iran.

Tehran earlier this week said 606 people had been killed in the conflict, while 5,332 others had been injured.

On Thursday, Iran partially reopened its airspace, which had been shut down since the war broke out, and shops in the capital of Tehran began to reopen, with traffic returning to the streets.