The US bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, and Israel and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement immediately. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not appeared in public for several days, causing speculation from all walks of life. Khamenei made his first public speech since Iran was attacked by the US military on the 26th. In a pre-recorded video, he congratulated the Iranian people and claimed victory over Israel and the United States.
In his speech, Khamenei did not mention the damage caused by the Israeli and American bombings, nor did he explain the future of Iran’s nuclear program. He said that Washington was forced to join the war on behalf of Israel because of pressure.
Khamenei said: “The reason why the United States directly joined the war is that the US government felt that if it did not join the war, the Zionist regime in Israel might be completely destroyed. But in this war, the United States has nothing to gain.”
Israel launched an air strike on Iran on the 13th, and the US military followed on the 22nd to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran fired missiles at the US military base in Qatar in response. However, Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire on the 24th, ending the 12-day conflict.
During the 12-day exchange of fire between Iran and Israel, Khamenei issued two statements, but after the US bombing of Iran, there was no statement or pre-recorded video. The outside world is talking about Khamenei’s whereabouts and health.
Iranian officials said recently that Khamenei was taking refuge in a bunker and tried to avoid electronic communication with the outside world to avoid assassination.
The New York Times reported that Khamenei’s hiding place could not be seen from the latest released video of the conversation. There was a light brown curtain behind Khamenei’s seat, with the Iranian flag and the portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on both sides. The arrangement was the same as the previous video released since the outbreak of the Israeli-Iranian conflict.
