In the months since Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei became the supreme leader following the assassination of his father, he has been characterized by the U.S. government as an ineffectual leader, and possibly even dead.But in the last several days, that rhetoric has pivoted — concurrent with a surprise statement on Thursday from the ayatollah, declaring victory over “imperialism, led by the U.S.” and its “military base called Israel.”“The malicious enemy has been defeated in its confrontation with the Armed Forces,” Khamenei wrote in the statement, which was published and read out by Iranian state media. “Since it has received a decisive blow both in military combat and in [Iran’s] public squares and streets, it’s experiencing a profound, significant humiliation.
A woman holds a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a ceremony honoring the armed forces and those killed in the war with Israel and the U.S. at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
“The enemy has focused its schemes in hybrid warfare on two points: the resilience of the Iranian people and trying to create errors in the assessments of the country’s officials,” the ayatollah said. “The instrument it’s using for both is sowing the seeds of doubt, despair, fear, mistrust, and discord.”
