
Trump claims he spared Khamenei from an ugly death — now wants a thank you from Iran
Donald Trump asserted that he spared Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a recent conflict, despite knowing his location and obliterating Iran's nuclear sites. Trump claims he prevented a devastating final strike by recalling Israeli jets heading to Tehran, expecting gratitude for averting further casualties and offering potential sanctions relief.
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Donald Trump Claims He Spared Iran's Supreme Leader During US Strike
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Accused of Lying About Iran's War Outcome
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Trump Says He Saved Khamenei
Trump Says Israeli Jets Were Recalled After His Intervention
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Operation Midnight Hammer Targeted Key Nuclear Sites
FAQs
US president Donald Trump said that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be thanking him, not boasting about victory, following the recent 12-day war between Iran and Israel, as per a report.Trump, writing on his social media platform Truth Social, claimed that he had chosen not to target Khamenei during US and Israeli military operations, even though he knew where the Iranian leader was hiding, as per the Independent report.He pointed out that the octogenarian cleric who has headed Iran's religious fundamentalist government since 1989, had boasted publicly of having won that short conflict, calling the Iranian leader's claim 'a lie,' as reported by the Independent.The US president wrote on Truth Social, saying, 'As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie. His Country was decimated, his three evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life,' as quoted by the Independent.ALSO READ: Despite airstrikes, Trump officials quietly courted Iran with $30 billion nuclear deal and sanction relief He highlighted in his post that, 'I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!,'' as quoted in the report.The US president also indicated that Khamenei should have expressed gratitude for the Trump's role in pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recall Israel Air Force fighters in the hours before a ceasefire between Israel and Iran went into effect earlier this week, as he said that those planes 'were heading directly to Tehran, looking for a big day, perhaps the final knockout!,' as quoted by the Independent report.Trump said, 'Tremendous damage would have ensued, and many Iranians would have been killed. It was going to be the biggest attack of the War, by far,' as per the report.ALSO READ: Trump says Iran warned of missile strike at Al Udeid base: 'They asked if 1 o'clock was OK — I said fine' He continued the post by claiming that he had spent 'the last few days' working on how to lift longstanding — and in his words, 'BITING', the US sanctions on Tehran to enable the country to have 'much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery,' as quoted by the Independent report.Trump further said that Khamenei's 'statement of anger, hatred, and disgust' had caused him to have 'immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,' according to the report.The US president ended his Truth Social post, saying, 'Iran has to get back into the World Order flow, or things will only get worse for them. 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,' and added that Tehran's leadership had 'no hope' and things would 'only get worse' until they 'realize that you often get more with HONEY than you do with VINEGAR,' as quoted by the Independent report.Trump's public outburst against Iran's leader came after the US B-2 stealth bombers dropped more than a dozen 30,000 pound bunker-busting bombs onto three Iranian nuclear sites, and he had claimed that the bombing 'obliterated' the Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear facilities as part of what American officials called 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' according to the Independent.Trump claimed he knew Ayatollah Khamenei's location during the conflict but chose not to have him killed.Trump says his decision to prevent a deadly final strike saved Khamenei's life and spared further Iranian casualties.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Top Khamenei aide appears on state TV following reports of his death in Israeli airstrike
The 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel ended with a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump and Qatar on June 24 and it was reported that Ali Shamkhani — a close aide to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died in Israeli airstrikes which was earlier confirmed by both Israeli and Iranian authorities, appeared on an Iranian state TV and apparently gave an interview on Saturday. Shamkhani was attending a mass funeral in Tehran which was organised to bid adieu to the dozens of military commanders and nuclear scientists killed in the Israeli attack. Shamkhani's death was surrounded in mystery after initial reports emerged that he was killed during Israel's June 13 strike on Iran. Though several reports also claimed that Shamkhani had survived the attack and he was seriously wounded. 1- A 9-minute interview with former national security adviser Ali Shamkhani. His injuries are more or less internal. Shamkhani was under rubble for 3hs after Zionist regime's attack on his flat on the first night of aggression. — Fereshteh Sadeghi فرشته صادقی (@fresh_sadegh) June 28, 2025 Last week, several Iranian outlets, including IRNA, Tasnim and Fars reported that Shamkhani had not died in the Israeli airstrike, instead had been 'severely injured and hospitalized' in Tel Aviv's attack, though no photos of him were released by any media outlet. Thereafter, Shamkhani appeared in the pictures of Iran's state media on Saturday covering the state funeral for those who died during the 12-day conflict with Israel. And on the same day, Iran's state news agency IRIB ran Shamkhani's interview, which the news outlet touted as Iran's top official's first television interaction since the attack. In the televised interview, Shamkhani claimed that he was trapped under the debris of his home for three hours after Israel's strike. 'I did my morning prayer while under the rubble,' he said, reported CNN. 'At first, I thought it was an earthquake. But when I heard the sound of vehicles, I realized it was not,' top Khamenei aide said during the interview. Israel and Iran are currently observing a ceasefire in hostilities which is fragile, and if broken, could rapidly escalate the tension in the Middle East region.


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
‘We call on Iran to provide for safety of IAEA personnel': US state secretary Marco Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday (US local time) said that Iran must ensure the safety and provide security to the International Atomic Energy Agency personnel. Marco Rubio wrote in a post on X, 'We support the IAEA's critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran."(AFP) In a post on X, Rubio said, "Calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi are unacceptable and should be condemned." He added, 'We support the IAEA's critical verification and monitoring efforts in Iran and commend the Director General and the IAEA for their dedication and professionalism. We call on Iran to provide for the safety and security of IAEA personnel.' Earlier this week, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, in his first public remarks since a ceasefire, said Iran had "slapped America in the face" by launching missiles at a major US base in Qatar in retaliation for American strikes on nuclear facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz. Trump had said Khamenei's remarks, which he described as "a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust", prompted him to halt talks on lifting sanctions and other diplomatic efforts that could have aided Iran's recovery. Al Jazeera further reported that Trump made similar bellicose remarks earlier during a White House news conference, where he confirmed he would "without question, absolutely" consider new air strikes if Iran's nuclear programme had not been dismantled. Iran's response to the strikes has included suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that Iran may reject any requests from the agency to inspect nuclear sites, calling Director General Rafael Grossi's insistence on visits "meaningless and possibly even malign in intent." No IAEA inspections have taken place since June 13, when Israel began bombing Iranian facilities, Al Jazeera reported.


Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Bunker-buster bombs ‘ineffective' against Iran's Isfahan nuclear facility; Top US general reveals why
The U.S. military deliberately avoided using bunker-buster bombs on Iran's Isfahan nuclear complex because the site's extreme depth rendered the weapons ineffective, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine confirmed in a classified Senate briefing. Isfahan's underground facilities reportedly store 60% of Iran's enriched uranium, critical for bomb development, buried beyond the reach of America's GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs). Instead, submarines launched Tomahawk missiles to strike surface structures. The disclosure, first reported by CNN, underscores tactical limitations against Iran's fortified sites. While B-2 stealth bombers dropped 14 bunker-busters on the shallower Fordow and Natanz facilities, Isfahan's geology demanded alternative tactics. CIA Director John Ratcliffe noted that most of Iran's nuclear material remains concentrated at Isfahan and Fordow, amplifying strategic concerns about untouched uranium reserves. The decision highlights a stark gap between military capabilities and presidential rhetoric. Despite President Trump's claims that strikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, an early Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment concluded core facilities survived, setting back enrichment only "by months." Satellite imagery analyzed by weapons expert Jeffrey Lewis showed vehicles near Isfahan's tunnels days before the strike, with entrances reopened by June 27, suggesting uranium may have been moved. Technical analyses further indicate bunker-busters would have failed: Fordow's 90-meter depth exceeds the MOP's 25-meter penetration in medium-strength rock. At Isfahan, even 30,000-pound bombs couldn't reach chambers housing centrifuges. "Annihilated is too strong," conceded IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, though he acknowledged "enormous damage" to above-ground infrastructure. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told CNN on Thursday night, after receiving the briefing, that some of Iran's facilities 'are so far underground that we can never reach them. So they have the ability to move a lot of what has been saved into areas where there's no American bombing capacity that can reach it.' Republican lawmakers emerged from briefings acknowledging uranium stocks likely endure but defended the mission's scope. 'There is enriched uranium in the facilities that moves around, but that was not the intent or the mission,' Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas was quoted as telling CNN. 'My understanding is most of it's still there. So we need a full accounting. That's why Iran has to come to the table directly with us, so the (International Atomic Energy Agency) can account for every ounce of enriched uranium that's there. I don't think it's going out of the country, I think it's at the facilities,' McCaul continued. However, White House assertions clash with intelligence: Trump insisted "nothing was moved" pre-strike, despite DIA evidence of relocations and Israel's assessment of a "significant hit" (not total destruction).