Iranian television broadcasts the first video statement by the Supreme Leader since the ceasefire with Israel: The Zionist regime has been almost crushed and annihilated under the blows of the Islamic Republic
He has reappeared. After eight days of silence, Ali Khamenei sent a video message to state television to quell speculation about his fate and to claim the great victory against the Zionist enemy. The setting is the same as last time - brown curtains, the flag of the Islamic Republic on the right, the portrait of Ruhollah Khomeini watching over him on the left -: the Ayatollah is said to still be in the bunker that protected him from the bombings of enemy Israel.
Wearing his black turban as a Sayyid - the descendant of Muhammad - he congratulates the Iranian nation and says calmly: The second congratulations are for the victory of our dear Iran over the American regime. The American regime went directly to war because it believed that, if it did not do so, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. Here too, the Islamic Republic emerged victorious and, in return, delivered a severe slap in the face to the United States. According to the Ayatollah, America failed to achieve any significant result by attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, and President Donald Trump gave an"exaggerated" account of what happened. He warns that if there is a new aggression, the US will pay a heavy price.
The ayatollah goes on to explain that the United States is not really interested in Iran's nuclear or in uranium enrichment, which is being used this time as a pretext. What they want is for Iran to surrender. He says: One day they talk about human rights, another day about women's rights, then about the nuclear issue, then about missiles: in reality the crux of the matter has always been the same: they want Iran to surrender, Iran will never surrender. For a great country and a great nation like Iran, the mere mention of surrender is an insult.
He hadn't been seen for more than a week. The last time, Ali Khamenei had appeared in a video broadcast on state TV to say that the Zionist enemy had made a big mistake, if the United States attacks they will suffer irreparable consequences. From the secret bunker he threatened his usual enemies who, in the meantime, were bombing his country. During the intense days of the war, he only posted a few messages and a few emoticons on the X profile managed by social media managers - yes, the ayatollah who forbids social media to his people has a team of social media managers - and nothing more. No appearance after Donald Trump's bombing of the nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, nor after the announcement of the ceasefire. Not a video to celebrate what the regime is portraying as an Iranian victory. Nothing.
Compared to the communication standards of the ayatollahs this silence seemed strange. Rumors and theories about the fate of the religious leader began to circulate, also increased by an article in the New York Times which reports the rumors and doubts of the men of the regime. We must all pray, Mehdi Fazaeli, head of the leader's archive, said on TV. Those who must protect the Supreme Leader are doing their duty, he added. And, God willing, the people will soon be able to celebrate the victory together with their leader. God willing. That God willing made his - few - supporters tremble. And it made his - many - opponents smile, who see the elimination of the Supreme Leader as the possibility of the end of the Islamist dictatorship.
In recent days, some of them have written to us from Tehran: It is said that he died in a bombing. A statement that would have changed the history of this 12-day war and, above all, the history of the country. The latest news has him taking refuge in a bunker, with orders to cut off electronic communications with the outside world: the risk of being found by the Mossad is still too high. A source within the regime told Corriere that American intelligence sent Khamenei a message with the coordinates of his hideout to force him to sign the ceasefire. Another person also tells Corriere that, among the speculations circulating, there is also the one that in these first days of the truce they are trying to transfer the Ayatollah to another bunker (as Saddam Hussein did: he always changed hiding places to escape the enemy).
Today's video message calms rumors about his fate, but confirms the insecurity and instability that the Islamic Republic is experiencing. Despite triumphant claims, in this war it has lost the top of its chain of command, seen the most important nuclear sites damaged and halved the missiles available. To prepare for the worst-case scenario, the Supreme Leader has reportedly named three possible successors, to guarantee a few more moments of future for his regime.
