'Keep dreaming': Khamenei mocks Trump’s claim of destroying Iran’s nuclear sites

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rubbished US President Donald Trump’s claim of destroying Tehran’s nuclear facilities by airstrikes in June and mocked him, saying, “keep dreaming.”

“The US president proudly says they bombed and destroyed Iran’s nuclear industry. Very well, keep dreaming!” said Khamenei in a post on his website.

Khamenei also scoffed at President Trump’s offer to resume nuclear talks with Iran that came to an abrupt halt after Israel launched strikes on the Islamic Republic on June 13 that led to the 12-day-long war between the two countries.

Khamenei accuses Trump of bullying

The Iranian leader, according to the state-run IRNA, also questioned Trump’s argument over Iran possessing nuclear facilities, asking what right he has to dictate terms to a country simply because of its nuclear infrastructure.

Also Read: Khamenei makes first public appearance since start of Iran-Israel war

“Keep dreaming. But who are you, anyway, to set dos and don’ts for a country simply because it possesses a nuclear industry? What does it have to do with the United States whether Iran has nuclear capabilities or not? As quoted by IRNA, " such interference is inappropriate, wrong, and bullying,” said Khamenei.

“If he is truly powerful, let him calm the millions of people in all US states who are chanting against him,” he added.

Trump’s ‘bully of the Middle East’ remark

Khamenei’s comments come days after President Trump's speech at the Knesset in Jerusalem last Monday, after Hamas released the last 20 living hostages from Gaza, a ceasefire brokered by him.

Also Read: Iran to channel IAEA cooperation via security council

Trump, during an interview with Fox News, doubled down on his claim of crippling Iran’s nuclear facilities, stating that Tehran can “no longer become the bully of the Middle East” following US strikes, which “destroyed their nuclear capability.”

Damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities still unknown

However, the actual damage caused by the Iranian nuclear facilities from the US strikes remains unknown. While the Pentagon claimed that the strikes delayed Iran’s nuclear program by between one and two years, an initial classified US intelligence report, as reported in US media, stated that the setback was only by a few months.

Iran’s June conflict with Israel occurred just two days before a planned sixth round of nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington, which had started in April.

Also Read: Iran enacts law suspending cooperation with IAEA

The talks have stalled since, as Iran insists it will resume discussions only if the US guarantees no military action. Following the lapse of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and global powers, UN sanctions were reimposed on Tehran.

The accord had previously limited Iran’s nuclear activities until the US, under President Trump, withdrew from it in 2018, leading to renewed tensions and the collapse of the diplomatic framework.