Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a religious gathering on Saturday, according to Iranian state media outlet Press TV, the first time he has appeared in public in several weeks.
Khamenei had not made a public appearance since his country was plunged into conflict on June 13, when Israel unilaterally bombed Iranian military and nuclear sites. The US later joined in, bombing three key Iranian nuclear sites before US President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire.
In video posted by Press TV on X, Khamenei waves to a crowd of black-clad worshippers marking the eve of Ashura, when Shia Muslims commemorate and mourn the death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Husayn ibn Ali. The crowd greeted the cleric in turn with cheers and chants.
Weeks in hiding
Khamenei, the longest-ruling leader in the Middle East, reportedly spent the 12-day conflict with Israel and the US hiding in a bunker with little access to outside communications. During the conflict, both Israeli politicians and Trump openly discussed overthrowing Khamenei’s government and deposing him by force.
After reportedly rejecting an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei, Trump stated in late June that the cleric was an “easy target.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out targeting Khamenei either, saying that his death would “not … escalate the conflict,” but rather “end” it.
In a recorded statement posted from an undisclosed location days after the ceasefire began, Khamenei was defiant, declaring victory over both Israel and the US. Khamenei took time to respond directly to US President Donald Trump, who had called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” shortly before ordering US airstrikes.
“This (conflict) is not about our nuclear program,” Khamenei said. “This is about Iran surrendering … in his statement, (Trump) revealed the truth, he showed his hand. The Americans have had a fundamental issue with Islamic Iran since our revolution.”
“And it will never happen,” Khamenei said of Trump’s demand.
“The Islamic Republic had one social contract with society, which is that it deprived them of all freedoms … in return for providing security,” said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group. “Now, that image has been shattered in the eyes of the Iranian people.”
US ‘won’t allow’ Iranian nuclear program
Khamenei’s new public appearance comes a day after Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the US won’t allow Iran to restart its nuclear program.
“If they did start, there’d be a problem. We wouldn’t allow that to happen,” Trump said Friday.
Trump said he would discuss the previous strikes with Netanyahu, who is due to visit Washington on Monday.
The comments echo remarks made earlier on Friday by Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, who said his country must maintain “aerial superiority” over Iran to ensure it cannot rebuild its nuclear or missile production programs.
Trump reiterated his claim that Iran wants to meet with the US for talks, a statement Iranian officials have repeatedly denied.
The Trump administration has discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30 billion to build a nuclear program for civilian energy production, easing sanctions, and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds – all part of an intensifying attempt to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table, four sources familiar with the matter said.