That's what it's about

• In a video message, Ali Khamenei declared victory over Israel and said that the US attacks had achieved nothing.
• The Ayatollah had not appeared in public for days.
• Iran had destroyed Israel, Khamenei said.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not been seen or heard in public for almost a week. On Thursday, Khamenei addressed the people in a video message broadcast on Iranian state television and proclaimed victory over Israel.

The US only intervened to prevent Israel from being completely destroyed, Khamenei said Thursday in a video message broadcast on Iranian state television. The Islamic Republic has won and, in retaliation, has struck the Americans a slap in the face, he said in his first public remarks since the start of a ceasefire with Israel two days ago.

He was apparently referring to an Iranian missile attack on a US base in Qatar on Monday, which resulted in no casualties. The US has achieved nothing with its attacks, the Ayatollah continued. During the US attack and the Israeli bombings, Khamenei, according to official sources, barricaded himself in a bunker. There, he reportedly did not allow any electronic communication.

Objectively speaking, Israel and the United States likely benefited significantly more from the twelve-day conflict. There remains considerable uncertainty, and reports from both the US government and the regime in Tehran differ significantly, regarding how severely Iran's nuclear facilities were actually hit, thus setting back the goal of building a nuclear bomb, as claimed by US President Trump.

Israeli army dominated in Iran

What is clear, however, is that in the short war, the Israeli Air Force completely dominated Iranian airspace. Not a single fighter jet that flew attacks over several days was shot down. In contrast, Israeli bombs and missiles hit not only nuclear facilities but also countless air defense bases and long-range missile launchers—250, according to Israeli sources.

The significant decline in Tehran's ability to fire rockets at Israel over the course of the war was also reflected in the steady decline in the number of missiles launched. From a humanitarian perspective, the war was a major loss for the populations of both countries: According to the Iranian Ministry of Health, 610 people died as a result of Israeli shelling. On the Israeli side, 28 civilians were reportedly killed by Iranian rockets.

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