Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared in public on Saturday for the first time since the conflict with Israel and the United States erupted on June 13, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV.<\/p>\n
Khamenei was seen attending a religious gathering marking the eve of Ashura, a major Shia Muslim day of mourning. In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), he waved to a crowd of black-clad worshippers who responded with cheers and chants.<\/p>\n
This marks Khamenei\u2019s first public appearance in weeks, following reports that he spent much of the 12-day conflict in hiding, sheltering in a bunker with limited communication. During the fighting, which began when Israel unilaterally struck Iranian military and nuclear facilities, U.S. forces joined the assault, targeting three key nuclear sites. President Donald Trump later declared a ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Throughout the conflict, both Israeli leaders and President Trump openly discussed the possibility of removing Khamenei from power. Trump called the Supreme Leader an \u201ceasy target,\u201d and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Khamenei\u2019s death could bring the war to a swift end.<\/p>\n
In a defiant recorded message released shortly after the ceasefire, Khamenei claimed victory over Israel and the United States. \u201cThis is not about our nuclear program,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is about Iran surrendering\u2026 and it will never happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the tough rhetoric, analysts believe Khamenei\u2019s standing at home may have suffered. \u201cThe Islamic Republic\u2019s core promise was security in exchange for limited freedoms,\u201d said Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group. \u201cThat contract appears broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s initial strikes were among the most damaging in recent history, reportedly killing several high-ranking Iranian military officials on the first day alone.<\/p>\n
Khamenei\u2019s reappearance came just a day after President Trump issued a warning from Air Force One, saying the U.S. would not allow Iran to restart its nuclear program. \u201cIf they did start, there\u2019d be a problem,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
The warning was echoed by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who emphasized the need to maintain air superiority to prevent Iran from reviving its missile and nuclear capabilities.<\/p>\n
Despite heightened tensions, Trump claimed Iran is eager to reopen talks\u2014an assertion Tehran has repeatedly denied. Still, reports suggest the U.S. is exploring ways to coax Iran back to the negotiating table, including potential sanction relief and unlocking billions in restricted Iranian funds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared in public on Saturday for the first time since the conflict with Israel and the United States erupted on June 13, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV. Khamenei was seen attending a religious gathering marking the eve of Ashura, a major Shia Muslim day of mourning. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,34],"tags":[120],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2556"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2559,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2556\/revisions\/2559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newstoday24hour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}