Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected on Monday an assertion by U.S. President Donald Trump that the United States has destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“The U.S. president proudly says they bombed and destroyed Iran’s nuclear industry. Very well, keep dreaming!” Khamenei said on X.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has directly mocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims that Washington had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear industry.
Posting on his official X account Monday, Khamenei wrote: “The U.S. President boasts that they’ve bombed and eliminated Iran’s nuclear industry. Very well, in your dreams!” The statement underscores his defiance in the face of U.S. military actions and political pressure.
Newsweek has reached out to the State Department and Iran’s Foreign Ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
Khamenei’s post comes amid heightened tensions following U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and the recent 12-day war with Israel. Coupled with the collapse of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran nuclear deal, and the failure of recent diplomatic talks to revive it, the post signals that Tehran is resisting pressure from Washington, including ongoing sanctions aimed at crippling its economy and nuclear ambitions.
His online mockery highlights that, despite military threats, regional conflict, and economic pressure, Iran is unwilling to concede to U.S. claims or diplomacy dictated from Washington, underlining persistent risks for regional stability.
In a series of posts, both in Farsi and in English, Khamenei began by ridiculing Trump’s claims, repeating his earlier “in your dreams!” jab before expanding on Iran’s defiance.
He followed by asserting Iran’s independence in nuclear matters: “Our nuclear industry has nothing to do with America,” Khamenei said. “You may believe you have destroyed Iran’s nuclear industry—very well, keep imagining that. But who are you to decide what a country can or cannot do in its nuclear field? What does it have to do with America?”
Khamenei warned Iran would not hesitate to act militarily if threatened again. “These missiles were not bought or borrowed—they are the creations of Iranian youth. If necessary, we will use them again.” He accused Washington of hypocrisy, calling it “the embodiment of terrorism” and saying sanctions and pressure proved U.S. hostility toward the Iranian people: “You are the enemy of this nation, not its friend.”
Khamenei also mocked Trump’s recent visit to Israel, saying his speech there was meant to lift morale among “disappointed Zionists.”
“The U.S. President tried to give hope and boost the morale of the disappointed Zionists in Occupied Palestine with a handful of empty words and his buffoonery. This is my analysis of the U.S. President’s trip to Occupied Palestine.”