Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday defied Western pressure, saying their demands over Tehran's nuclear program are an excuse to confront the country.
“All their talk about nuclear issues, [uranium] enrichment, human rights, and such things are nothing but excuses,” to confront Iran, Khamenei said in a speech in Tehran commemorating Iranian military commanders and scientists killed during the 12-day Israel-Iran war last month. “What they are after is your religion and knowledge.”
Khamenei’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump, who ordered a strike on three key Iranian nuclear sites during the Israeli campaign targeting the nuclear program, said Monday that the US would “openly and gladly” strike Iran again if it restarts its nuclear program.
In a brief eight-minute speech, the Iranian Supreme Leader said: “Much to the enemy’s dismay, we will succeed in elevating Iran to the peak of progress and the pinnacle of honor.”
He said what happened during these 12 days showed the power of the Iranian people, their determination and resolve, their steadfastness, and their ability to the world.
This was the third public appearance of the Iranian leader since the war broke out between Iran and Israel. Khamenei did not participate in the funeral prayers or the burial of Iranian military and scientific leaders after the war ended.
He said the recent events are not something Iran had not experienced before. “For more than 45 years, in addition to the eight-year war (with Iraq), there have been seditions, inciting weak-willed individuals against the nation, and various other plots; military, political, security-related plots, as well as coups and other similar actions. The country has overcome them all.”
The ceremony was attended by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. When asked about Iran’s position on nuclear talks, the FM said, “No plan has been set for negotiations yet. However, in any field, including the negotiating table, our goal is to defend the legacy and the blood of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for a cause.”
On Monday, Araghchi warned that it would respond to the United States and Israel in a “more decisive manner” should they attack Iran again.
The comments appeared to also be in response to Trump’s remarks a day earlier.
“If aggression is repeated, we will not hesitate to react in a more decisive manner and in a way that will be IMPOSSIBLE to cover up,” Araghchi said in a post on X.
Earlier on Tuesday, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces, said his country places absolutely “no trust” in the US and Israeli promises and that Iran stands “fully prepared” to decisively confront any renewed aggression.
Speaking with Tajikistan’s Defense Minister, Emomali Abdur Rahim Sobirzoda, Mousavi said the US and Israel “did not achieve their goals and received heavy blows, which is why they called for a ceasefire to save the Zionist regime.”
On Monday, Iran's Ministry of Intelligence published a report detailing some of its operations launched to counter US-Israeli attacks during the 12-day war.
The Ministry said it neutralized a complex hybrid and military operation between June 13 and June 24, and that it thwarted efforts aimed at destabilizing the Iranian government and promoting national disintegration.
The Ministry revealed it thwarted assassinations plots against 35 officials and foiled infiltration plots by 300 foreign terrorists near the southeast border and 150 members in the west, both targeting Iran.
A significant US-Israeli plot to install an opposition-led puppet government was uncovered, the Ministry stated.
Last week, Israeli sources said the US and Israeli strikes in Iran hampered the country's development of two types of nuclear warheads and an “electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon that could cripple Israel electronically,” the Washington Post reported Saturday.
