Iran has dealt the U.S. and Israel a “decisive blow” in the Middle East war, its supreme leader claimed Thursday, while Tehran reported “no tangible progress” in negotiations to end the conflict.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei's message, read out by a prayer leader at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of the Islamic Republic's founder, came after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution seeking to halt American military action in Iran.
Weeks of talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence have failed to secure a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows.
The U.S. and Iran have sent divergent messages, with Tehran insisting on steep conditions for progress, even as President Donald Trump again voiced optimism, telling reporters a deal "could happen ... over the weekend."
In his message, Khamenei said his country's enemies, after "facing a decisive blow," were now "experiencing a deeply meaningful and profound humiliation."
He went on to accuse them of seeking to "plant the seeds of doubt, despair, fear, mistrust and division" among the public, calling for unity to "neutralize their sinister plot."
Khamenei has not been seen in public since being wounded in strikes that killed his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei in the opening salvo of the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign on Feb. 28.
Every June 4 since 1989, the elder Khamenei had delivered a speech at the commemoration of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's death.
This year, however, an empty chair bearing his portrait stood at the mausoleum, according to footage broadcast from the site.
Trump is under pressure to find a way out of the war, which has delivered a shock to markets and proven unpopular at home as midterm elections loom.
But despite a cease-fire that has largely held since April, progress toward a final deal has been punctured by sporadic episodes of violence – including Wednesday, when the U.S. struck targets in Iran, which responded with an attack on Kuwait.
Four lawmakers from Trump's Republican party joined Democrats Wednesday to vote 215-208 in favor of a resolution ordering the withdrawal of American troops from the Iran war.
"This is a loud and unambiguous message to Donald Trump on behalf of the American people: it's time to end his deeply unpopular and illegal war of choice in Iran," Democrats posted on X.
The resolution was largely symbolic, however, as the U.S. president can veto it if it gains Senate approval.
At a congressional hearing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles were at the center of discussions with Tehran.
Washington insists Tehran must turn over its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, agree to curb its nuclear activities and reopen Hormuz.
Iran, however, has long claimed a right to enrichment and has also preconditioned a deal on halting the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel is waging a ground invasion in the name of fighting the Tehran-backed armed group, Hezbollah.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said Wednesday that any Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital Beirut would trigger a "full-scale resumption" of the wider war.
