Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed victory over Israel and the U.S. in his first comments since the recent war ended with a ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump.

“I offer my congratulations on the victory over the fallacious Zionist regime,” Khamenei posted to his English-language X account ahead of the release of a video statement.

On his Farsi account, Khamenei said Iran nearly brought Israel to its knees in the conflict, and said it was saved from complete destruction only by American intervention.

The U.S. achieved nothing from the war, Khamenei said, adding that Iran “delivered a hard slap to America’s face.”

Israel and the U.S. struck the Iranian nuclear program hard, destroying key facilities to prevent Tehran from developing a bomb. Israel also hit Iranian military sites and killed dozens of key senior personnel, including nuclear scientists.

Iran said its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes, but it had stockpiles of uranium enriched to a level that far exceeded what was necessary and was a short step away from weapons-grade.

During the 12-day war, Khamenei took shelter as Israel bombed sites across Iran, including the capital Tehran. Trump warned Khamenei that the U.S. knew where Khamenei was hiding and the Iranian leader was an “easy target”.

Trump said the U.S. and Iran are due to hold fresh talks about the nuclear issue. He said Iran cannot rebuild its facilities or enrich uranium, and that he would act again militarily if he saw the need. He urged Iran to pursue peace, diplomacy, and trade instead.