Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mocked President Donald Trump’s assertion that recent U.S. airstrikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, calling the claim a fantasy.  “The U.S. president proudly says they bombed and destroyed Iran’s nuclear industry. Very well, keep dreaming!” Khamenei wrote on X, in a post that quickly went viral across Persian and English-language networks.

The sharp exchange followed Trump remarks in which the president described the strikes on suspected Iranian nuclear sites as a “decisive victory” for American security interests. U.S. defense officials later told Congress that intelligence showed key facilities at Natanz and Fordow had sustained “irreparable damage.”

Iranian officials, however, rejected those claims. Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on state television that enrichment activities had resumed at alternative locations and that “the Islamic Republic’s nuclear knowledge cannot be bombed away.”

Analysts said Khamenei’s comments reflect both defiance and political calculation. “This is classic Khamenei: projecting strength to rally hardliners at home while avoiding direct confrontation,” said Sanam Vakil of Chatham House.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)