After punishing conflict, Iranians doubt Khamenei victory declaration

The presentation in line with common government practice was made by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine.

“The briefing raised more questions than it answered," Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said baldly.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said he left the briefing unsure about whether the US President Donald Trump was telling the truth and urged talks.

"Ultimately, the only way to truly constrain Iran's nuclear program is diplomacy. You cannot bomb knowledge out of existence. No matter how many scientists you kill, there are still people in Iran who know how to work centrifuges," he told reporters.

"To me, it still appears that we have only set back the Iranian nuclear program by a handful of months," the Connecticut lawmaker added.

"I just do not think the President was telling the truth when he said this program was obliterated. There's certainly damage done to the program, but there is still significant remaining capability."

Rallying to Trump's defense, Arkansas Republican and Iran hawk Senator Tom Cotton said the president's detractors must be mentally ill.

"Some Democrats, some in the media, seem that's such a case of Trump derangement syndrome that they're rooting for the survival of Iran's nuclear program versus celebrating the success of our pilots and their crews," Cotton said.

"I think we've caused catastrophic damage to Iran's nuclear program," Cotton insisted.

"If you look at the whole span of what happened over 12 days, the targeting of Iran's nuclear scientists, the underground bunkers, the centrifuges, the centrifuge manufacturing sites, the gas to metal conversion sites, that's why we're confident - since all of those are single points of failure in an effort to get a nuclear weapon - that we have had an extraordinary success," he added.

“If the killing of the Revolutionary Guards' top commanders in the first 10 minutes of war counts as a victory, then let Khamenei live in his delusions," said one person, whose identity was withheld for their safety.

"The people have seen and felt the Islamic Republic’s defeat and humiliation"

Comments were submitted by viewers of the Persian-language broadcaster.

“The fact that Netanyahu walks among his people without bodyguards, and this shameless coward is sending videos from a rat hole says everything,” said another. “Even a 13-year-old can analyze what really happened.”

Khamenei appeared in a pre-recorded video aired Thursday, speaking from what observers believe is a fortified underground facility in an undisclosed location. The video setting matched hisprevious wartime address.

The veteran leader declared Israel had been “brought to its knees” and the United States had “gained nothing.”

Many Iranians expressed anger at his absence as average people fretted and fled.

“You disappeared for twelve days. Now you crawl out and call this 'victory'? Not a word for the people who were terrified," another person wrote."Not even an image, not a sentence for those who were dying."

“During those twelve days, mothers hugged their children so the last missile wouldn’t take them,” one woman added. “Now you return like some fake hero and say ‘we won’? Won what—destroyed cities? Dead children in Tehran? Protesters arrested for nothing?”

The US-based human rights website HRANA reported on Wednesday that 823 Iranian citizens had faced political or security-related charges since the outbreak of the war.

According to the report, 286 people were detained for their online activities, including sharing content about Israel’s attack on Iran.

Say 'I beat them'

Another viewer sarcastically referenced a line from one of the most iconic soliloquies in a so-called Film-Farsi movie from before the Islamic Revolution to describe Khamenei's claim of victory.

In the scene, a character recounts a fight in which he was badly beaten and collapsed before he could even draw his knife—but still boasts about winning.

He said, half-pleading, half-boasting: “Now, I told everyone I beat them. You say I did too; it doesn’t look good.”

Some also directly criticized Khamenei’s personal safety measures: “If he’s telling the truth, let him come out and speak. He’s still hiding in the sewers. These cowards only speak from a distance.”

Some replies even mocked the Supreme Leader’s physical appearance. “He looked pale and shaken,” one person wrote.

“He says 90 million Iranians are standing behind the armed forces. I’d like him to come out of his bunker and see for himself how many people actually support this regime.”

Massive costs

One of the most repeated themes in the reactions dwelt on the costly destruction the war wrought. Many commenters pointed to the toll on ordinary Iranians, saying the only outcome had been ruin.

“Nothing has come out of this except the destruction of Iran, massive costs and making life even worse for the people — and nothing else ever will,” read one message.

“All this destruction, all these deathsxand now they talk peace?” another said. “Khamenei wasn’t crushed? Just look at his voice—shaky, scared. He’s hiding underground, while we’re left in the rubble.”

Accountability

Another recurring theme was frustration over the perceived lack of accountability.

“The country is in ruins," one person said. "Did you even offer condolences for your own commanders who died overnight? You only care about those close to you. The rest of us don’t matter.”

The responses also reflected exhaustion with decades of problems.

One viewer said: “It’s been forty years of war, sanctions, and lies. Enough. We can’t breathe anymore.”

Another emotional message said: “We’ve been living in this Islamic Republic for half a century. We’ve learned to reverse whatever they say. If they say Israel was crushed, it means we were.”

Call for referendum

Some viewers called for a referendum to determine whether Iranians truly support continued conflict with Israel or financial support for proxy groups abroad.

“They’ve gotten so used to privilege and plundering public wealth that they refuse to let go, no matter what," one message read. "Enough is enough — for God’s sake, hold a referendum and see how many people actually support this regime.”

“Conduct a free and independent poll and find out how many Iranians really want to fight Israel or support Hezbollah and others. We don’t want war, we don’t want disaster — what are we supposed to do now? Just sit and wait for them to build a nuclear bomb and officially turn us into another North Korea?”

Others condemned what they described as the Islamic Republic's weaponization of Shia identity and historical symbols, accusing it of betraying the values of Imam Hussein by taking the Iranian people hostage.

“Imam Hussein didn’t use the people of Mecca and Medina as human shields to fight Yazid,” one viewer said. “Why are we being held hostage for your battles? You’re not fighting tyranny—you are the tyranny.”

The Trump administration upped the stakes in its rhetorical battle against doubters of its success in attacking Iran on Thursday, threatening to sue two top US outlets over their reporting.

Both outlets has cited a leaked Pentagon intelligence assessment which challenged Trump's protestations that US bombings had obliterated Iran's nuclear program.

The New York Times reported that a personal lawyer had sent a letter to the august daily saying its report had damaged Trump's reputation, urging it to “retract and apologize for” the story.

The letter described the newspaper's report, which had cited a Defense Intelligence Agency initial assessment of US bomb damage to three Iranian nuclear sites, as “false,” “defamatory” and “unpatriotic".

“No retraction is needed,” the New York Times's lawyer David McCraw, wrote in reply.

“No apology will be forthcoming,” the lawyer added. “We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”

A spokesperson for CNN cited by the newspaper confirmed that the news network had also received a similar letter from the president's legal counsel.

An Argentine judge on Thursday ruled that ten suspects in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires—Argentina’s deadliest attack—must face trial in absentia.

The bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) killed 85 people and injured over 150.

Those accused include Iran's former intelligence minister Ali Fallahian, former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaee, former ambassador to Argentina Hadi Soleimanpour, and other Iranian embassy staff.

Argentine authorities also named individuals affiliated with Hezbollah.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday there is no agreement to restart negotiations with the United States and no discussions about talks have taken place.

“There has been no agreement to resume negotiations, and not even any conversation about negotiations. At present, there is no basis for talks,” Araghchi said on state television.

During previous discussions, Iran rejected a US proposal and intended to present its own at the next session, but the attack occurred before that happened, he added.

“In earlier negotiations, they offered a proposal of which many parts were unacceptable to us, and we rejected it… That proposal was not achieved, and the assault took place.”

Any potential agreement, Araghchi said, would have to be based on three pillars: “From the beginning, we made it clear that any possible agreement must include two pillars: enrichment inside Iran and lifting of sanctions. A third pillar, providing guarantees that we will not pursue nuclear weapons, could also be addressed.”

“In all our correspondence, we said that this aggression was a betrayal of diplomacy and the very spirit of negotiation,” he added.

“Whether we will specifically return to talks with the United States is a matter under review and depends on our national interests,” Araghchi said.