Ayatollah Khamenei claims Iranian victory over US on Israel, Trump expresses desire to meet

Iran’s Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei delivered an unexpected proclamation of Iranian victory in the war with the US on Israel, stating that "the malicious enemy has been defeated in confrontation with Iran’s armed forces."

In a statement read out on Thursday during the ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Republic's founder Ruhollah Khomeini’s death, Khamenei said, “I tell the dear Iranian nation that the malicious enemy ... is now experiencing a profound and meaningful humiliation, both on the military battlefield and in the public arena and it is now focused on trickery.”

Khamenei’s unexpected statement may signal an approaching peace deal, for which he appears to be preparing the Iranian nation, while also calling for its unity.

“The system of domination, which created a garrison called Israel nearly 80 years ago, does not accept the existence of a strong and independent Iran, endowed with various advantages, on the eastern frontier of the false and fictitious geography of ‘Greater Israel’ — east of the Euphrates," The ayatollah's statement warned.

Khamenei has not appeared in public since the war began. US media reported, citing multiple Iranian officials, that he sustained serious injuries in the strikes, underwent multiple surgeries and has difficulty speaking due to severe burns.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was "likely disfigured." Iran has not confirmed the reports. He has communicated only through written statements since taking office.

In his written statement on Wednesday, Khamenei said that "the enemy ... focused its efforts in a hybrid war on two areas: the resilience of the people and creating errors in the calculations of the country's officials.“

"After Iran was able to repel the enemy, who was defeated on the battlefield, it now seeks to undermine the resilience of the Iranian people and sow discord,” the younger Khamenei warned the Iranian people.

"Everyone must neutralise the enemy’s sinister plans through steadfastness, vigilance, preserving unity and cohesion, maintaining mutual trust, and refraining from echoing the enemy’s narrative," he said.

Khamenei has also called on Iranian officials to “support these principles”, warning them that “any action that leads to public pessimism or discouragement among the people should be regarded as a form of assistance to the enemy — assistance against this country and its people.”

Trump would 'like to meet' Khamenei

In a series of surprising revelations, Trump said in an interview on Tuesday that the new ayatollah was involved in negotiations with the US and the two were "getting along quite well."

“I haven’t had the privilege of meeting him," the US president told the New York Post. "If you believe the stories, he’s missing a lot of different parts.”

“He’s involved, absolutely. Yeah, I think they have a lot of respect for him,” Trump said on the Pod Force One podcast.

“They say he is giving approval, because that’s the way it has been for a long, long time. His father and then him, I guess it’s a succession. But we seem to be getting along quite well.”

Trump also said he was keen to meet the younger Khamenei, pending the result of the ongoing talks.

“Yeah, I’d like to meet him. I’d love to meet everybody. I would like to meet him and we probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out.”

Previously, Trump dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei as a "lightweight" and an "unacceptable" choice to lead the Islamic Republic.

Khamenei was selected as the Islamic Republic's third supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts — the panel of Shia clerics responsible under Iranian law for appointing the position — roughly 10 days after his father's death.

After the announcement, Trump said he was "not happy" and "disappointed," adding, "I'm not going through this to end up with another Khamenei."

Sabre-rattling over Hezbollah

Khamenei’s statement is part of a growing trend in recent days, in which Tehran has continued to amplify its rhetoric towards a wider regional role to project strength despite the war's impact, further engaging in discussions on the war in Lebanon in support of its militant proxy Hezbollah.

Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank (ISW) has estimated that “Iran and Hezbollah are continuing to try to transform negotiations about ending the war over the Strait of Hormuz into negotiations about ending the war in Lebanon.”

“The Iranian regime likely also calculates that it can preserve its leverage on other issues in negotiations with the United States, such as its nuclear program and control of the Strait of Hormuz, by deflecting talks to the war in Lebanon,” the ISW analysis said.

The IRGC will “likely calculate that the status quo will help them advance several other objectives, such as solidifying Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining the Iranian nuclear program," according to the ISW.

In an interview with a Lebanese television station on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that “if Israel attacks Beirut, the result will be the return to war,” and that “either the war stops in both Iran and Lebanon, or it doesn't stop neither in Iran nor in Lebanon.”

“Our armed forces are ready to launch devastating strikes against the occupied territories at any moment,” Araghchi said.

Former head of Israel’s military intelligence research department and Atlantic Council non-resident fellow Danny Citrinowicz warned that “we are entering a new era in which Tehran feels stronger, more secure, and increasingly confident in the credibility of its deterrence.”

"Iranian leaders now appear to believe that their willingness to absorb military pressure and survive it, has enhanced rather than weakened their strategic position," Citrinowicz said in a post on X.

"The result is a more assertive Iran, a more dangerous Middle East, and a growing risk that future crises will escalate faster and further than anyone anticipated,” he added.