After Ayatollah Khamenei’s post-ceasefire address declaring Iran’s “victory,” Donald Trump claims he spared the Iranian leader’s life and suspended massive military retaliation — sparking a sharp rebuke from Iran’s foreign ministry.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran reignited on Saturday as Iran formally condemned recent remarks by US President Donald Trump targeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The comments followed Khamenei’s speech celebrating what he called Iran’s victory after the recently announced ceasefire with Israel. In response, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned that if Trump truly seeks diplomatic resolution, he must change his “disrespectful and unacceptable tone” toward Iran’s highest authority.
Iran issued a firm rebuke on Saturday to President Donald Trump over his recent public remarks directed at Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which followed the Iranian leader’s declaration of triumph in the wake of a ceasefire understanding with Israel.
Speaking on X (formerly Twitter), Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi urged Trump to alter his tone if he genuinely wants to reach a diplomatic agreement.
“If President Trump truly wishes to reach an agreement, he should set aside his disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards the Iranian Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, and stop hurting his millions of sincere supporters,” Araghchi posted.
The diplomatic tensions flared after Khamenei, in his first public address following the ceasefire, accused the U.S. president of “exaggerating events in unusual ways” and declared that the Islamic Republic of Iran had won the war, calling it a “severe slap to the face of America.”
In response, Trump launched a fierce tirade on his social media platform Truth Social, claiming he had personally intervened to prevent a lethal strike on Khamenei.
“I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH,” Trump wrote in all caps, asserting he had halted Israeli and U.S. military forces from targeting the Iranian leader.
He went on to criticize Khamenei’s claim of victory, calling it “blatantly and foolishly false.”
“As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie,” Trump said, adding that Iran had been ‘decimated,’ its three ‘evil nuclear sites’ obliterated, and that he knew “exactly” where Khamenei had been hiding during the strikes.
Trump further claimed that he had persuaded Israel to withdraw a large wave of aircraft already en route to Tehran for what he described as the “final knockout,” a strike he believed would have caused “tremendous damage” and “the biggest attack” in the conflict.
‘Sanctions Relief Was on the Table—Until Khamenei’s Speech’
In a revealing portion of his Truth Social post, Trump also alleged that he had been considering lifting sanctions on Iran just days before Khamenei’s controversial remarks.
“This would have given Iran a much better chance at a full, fast, and complete recovery,” he wrote. However, the offer was rescinded following what Trump described as Khamenei’s “anger, hatred, and disgust.”
The US President warned that unless Iran re-engaged constructively with the global community, the consequences would be dire.
“They are always so angry, hostile, and unhappy, and look at what it has gotten them—A burned out, blown up country, with no future, a decimated military, a horrible economy, and DEATH all around them,” Trump stated bluntly.
This fiery exchange marks a new low in US-Iran relations, even amid international efforts to stabilize the region following the intense military exchanges between Iran and Israel earlier this year.
With Trump’s explosive claims and Khamenei’s bold declarations now echoing across both nations, any path toward diplomacy appears more fraught than ever. Iran’s leadership remains resolute in the face of what it sees as U.S. provocation, while Trump continues to project power and defiance on the global stage. As both sides dig in, the world watches closely, hoping the ceasefire holds amid this escalating war of words.