Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused US President Donald Trump yesterday of exaggerating the impact of US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, in his first appearance since a ceasefire in the war with Israel took hold.
Trump, however, maintained the US attacks were devastating.
The US president said key facilities, including the underground Fordo uranium enrichment site, had been “obliterated” by American B-2 bombers.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth accused the media of misrepresenting the operation.
He said the US used massive GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs on Fordo and another underground site, while submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles targeted a third facility.
“President Trump created the conditions to end the war, decimating – choose your word – obliterating, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” Hegseth added.
In a televised speech, Khamenei hailed what he described as Iran’s “victory” over Israel, vowed never to yield to US pressure and insisted Washington had been dealt a humiliating “slap”.
“The American president exaggerated events in unusual ways, and it turned out that he needed this exaggeration,” Khamenei said, rejecting US claims Iran’s nuclear programme had been set back by decades.
The strikes, he insisted, had done “nothing significant” to Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump dismissed speculation Iran might have removed enriched uranium prior to the raid, saying: “Nothing was taken out... too dangerous, and very heavy and hard to move!”
He added that satellite images showed trucks at the site only because Iranian crews were attempting to shield the facility with concrete.
Khamenei dismissed such claims, saying “the Islamic republic won, and in retaliation dealt a severe slap to the face of America”.
His remarks followed the end of a 12-day war between Iran and Israel – the deadliest between the two countries to date.
Both sides have claimed victory: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “historic win”, while Khamenei said Iran’s missile retaliation had brought Israel to the brink of collapse.
In Washington, the true impact of the strikes has sparked sharp political and intelligence debates.
A leaked classified assessment suggested the damage to Iran’s nuclear programme may be less severe than initially claimed – possibly delaying progress by only a few months.
This assessment contrasts with statements from senior US officials.
CIA director John Ratcliffe said several facilities would need to be “rebuilt over the course of years”.
Doubts remain about whether Iran quietly removed some 400kg of enriched uranium from its most sensitive sites before the strikes – potentially hiding nuclear material elsewhere in the country.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that “nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure”.
After the war derailed nuclear talks between Iran and the US, Trump said Washington would hold discussions with Tehran next week, with his special envoy Steve Witkoff expressing hope “for a comprehensive peace agreement”.
Trump told reporters Israel and Iran were “both tired, exhausted”, before going on to say that talks were planned with Iran next week.
“We may sign an agreement. I don’t know,” he added.
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