Iran’s ayatollah claims ‘victory’ over Israel in first public appearance since ceasefire deal

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran emerged victorious over Israel and criticised US intervention, highlighting the retaliatory missile attack on a US base in Qatar.

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said his country emerged victorious over Israel and “delivered a slap to America’s face” on Thursday. The speech in a video broadcast marked Khamenei's first public comments since a US-brokered ceasefire was declared between the two countries following 12 days of conflict.He told viewers that Washington had only intervened in the fighting because “it felt that if it did not intervene, the (Israeli) regime would be utterly destroyed.”Khamenei said that the US “achieved no gains from this war."“The Islamic Republic was victorious and, in retaliation, delivered a slap to America’s face,” he said, in apparent reference to an Iranian missile attack on a US base in Qatar on Monday, which caused no casualties.This is a developing story and our journalists are working on further updates.