Hezbollah renews allegiance to Khamenei, hails Iran 'victory'
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem renewed the Iran-backed Lebanese group's allegiance to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday hours after the veteran Iranian leader emerged for the first time in over a week after a 12-day war with Israel.
Hezbollah, pounded by Israel in a series of attacks late last year, did not intervene to back Tehran as Israel and the United States launched air strikes.
"We affirm and are proud that we are with Iran and that we are under the guardianship of Imam Khamenei," Qassem said in a video address.
Qassem alleged "the unprecedented popular consensus around the leadership and regime in Iran and the rallying around Imam Khamenei to defend the country against aggression.”
Khamenei, he added, was a "brave, wise and inspiring leader who overcomes difficulties and stands in the field, fearless of blame while on God's path and confident in victory."
A former top intelligence official who delivered President Donald Trump his daily briefings during his first term said the political row over US strikes on Iran had gone toxic.
Beth Sanner told Politico in an interview that the toll of the strikes would become clear but the discourse was clouding the facts. Trump said the attacks "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program while a Pentagon assessment and Democrats doubt that.
"Now we’re in this really terrible doom loop where we’re having a conversation — this battle between obliterated and not obliterated — and in fact, we’re obliterating the nuance in the way that this conversation is going."
“We can have two things be true,” Sanner added. “We can have it be true that the bombing campaign was successful in destroying particular facilities or capabilities at particular facilities, and we still have questions about the Iran nuclear program and what might be left.”
"I think it will take a couple weeks to do a really good job" analyzing the damage, Sanner said.
A classified intelligence briefing for lawmakers on Thursday failed to bridge a deepening partisan rift over the success of US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, with prominent Democrats still questioning their effectiveness.
Iranians speaking via Iran International's submission line doubted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s declaration of victory over the United States and Israel in a televised speech on Thursday.
“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.
A classified intelligence briefing for lawmakers on Thursday failed to bridge a deepening partisan rift over the success of US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, with prominent Democrats still questioning their effectiveness.
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.
Iranians speaking via Iran International's submission line doubted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s declaration of victory over the United States and Israel in a televised speech on Thursday.
“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.”
A cleric and his wife carry Iranian and Hezbollah flags as they attend a gathering to support Iran's Armed Forces after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 24, 2025.
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.”
