“In the 12-day war, the Iranian nation undoubtedly defeated both the United States and the Zionist regime. They came and committed mischief, but were beaten and returned empty-handed, failing to achieve any of their objectives — this was a real defeat for them,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a televised speech on Thursday night.
The Leader said that according to some accounts, the Zionist regime had planned and prepared for the war for 20 years.
"They had planned a war in which they hoped to provoke the people and force them to fight against the system. But the situation was reversed, and they failed so completely that even those who had disagreements with the system stood alongside it, creating a general unity in the country,” he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the heavy losses suffered by the US in the 12-day war despite deploying its most advanced military equipment, including submarines, fighter jets, and state-of-the-art defense systems.
“The United States was severely damaged in this war, since despite using the latest offensive and defensive weapons, it could not achieve its goal of deceiving the nation and winning their support. Instead, the unity of the people increased, and the United States was also thwarted," he said.
“Of course, we also suffered losses, and, as is the nature of war, precious lives were lost. But the Islamic Republic demonstrated that it is a center of will and power, able to stand strong and make decisions without fear of the noise around it. Moreover, the material damage inflicted on the invading enemy was far greater than the material losses we suffered,” he added.
On June 13, Israel launched an unprovoked war against Iran, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians.
More than a week later, the United States also entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In response, the Iranian Armed Forces targeted strategic sites across the occupied territories as well as the al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military base in West Asia.
On June 24, Iran, through its successful retaliatory operations against both the Israeli regime and the US, managed to impose a halt to the illegal assault.
Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the severe disgrace and infamy of the Zionist regime in the Gaza tragedy as one of the most important disasters in the region’s history.
“The United States stood alongside the usurping regime and became severely disgraced and discredited, because the people of the world know that the Zionist regime is not capable of causing so much devastation without America.”