Statement by Iran’s leader says US, Israel hit by ‘decisive blow’ amid mixed signals on talks

A statement attributed to Iran’s supreme leader on Thursday said that the United States and Israel had been dealt a “decisive blow” in their war with the Islamic Republic, as the US sent mixed signals about whether the fighting could resume.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen or heard in public since being wounded in strikes that killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28. His message, read out by a prayer leader at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, came amid weeks of talks marked by threats and flare-ups of violence that have so far failed to secure a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows.

In his message, Khamenei ostensibly said his country’s enemies, after “facing a decisive blow,” were now “experiencing a deeply meaningful and profound humiliation.”

Every June 4 since 1989, the elder Khamenei had delivered a speech at the commemoration of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s death. This year, however, an empty chair bearing his portrait stood at the mausoleum, according to footage broadcast from the site.

The US and Iran have sent divergent messages about the talks, with Tehran insisting on steep conditions for progress, even as US President Donald Trump again voiced optimism, telling reporters on Wednesday that a deal “could happen” over the weekend. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has told aides privately that he would consider ending the ceasefire with Iran if Tehran killed American troops.

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On Thursday, according to a report on Channel 12, the US sent a message to Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator, demanding a reply from Iran by the weekend and a signing ceremony in Geneva next week. It was unclear what the consequences would be if Iran failed to abide by those terms.

And in an interview with state TV, Khamenei adviser Mohsen Rezaei said the current draft of the memorandum of understanding being negotiated to end the war has ambiguities that have to be clarified. Trump wants to pressure Iran to accept his conditions and keep Tehran’s conditions in a vague state, Rezaei added.

Later in the day, the US embassy in Jerusalem warned American citizens that “the security environment remains complex and can change quickly,” and advised them to know the location of the nearest shelter if fighting resumes.

There is no indication of what triggered the “security alert,” which was posted on X and addressed to US citizens abroad, regarding Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

“Due to high tensions in the region, the security environment remains complex and can change quickly,” Thursday’s message said. “We remind US citizens in the Middle East of the continued need for caution and encourage them to monitor the news for breaking developments.

“US citizens should know the location of the nearest shelter in the event of hostilities,” it added.

The full advisory noted that travel to Israel and most Gulf countries should be reconsidered and said travelers should avoid Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and Yemen, in line with existing warnings.

Ahead of the outbreak of war in February, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee warned citizens to leave the region and similar advisories were issued.

On February 27, the embassy issued a security alert authorizing the embassy’s non-emergency personnel and the family members of those stationed in Israel to leave the country due to “safety risks.” The joint Israel and US strikes on Iran began the next morning.

Two days later, on March 2, the US State Department urged Americans to immediately leave all of the Middle East from Egypt eastward, including Israel.

On March 3, Huckabee advised US citizens in Israel wishing to leave the country to do so via Egypt, while acknowledging that “the options are fairly limited” for those seeking to get out of Israel.

Trump pans symbolic House resolution against war

Trump was dealt a symbolic blow on Wednesday when the US House of Representatives passed a resolution seeking to halt American military action in Iran, with four Republicans joining Democrats in approving the measure. On Thursday, Trump called the vote “meaningless.”

He expressed anger at Republicans for joining Democrats in supporting the measure, and hinted that it would harm ongoing negotiations with Iran to end the war.

“Who would do such an unpatriotic thing? They know where the negotiations stand,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“The Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome,” he added. “They would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories. The four Republicans, that’s a whole other story — they’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves.”

Trump is under pressure to find a way out of the war, which has delivered a shock to markets and proven unpopular at home as the November midterm elections loom. But in spite of a ceasefire that has largely held since April, progress towards a final deal has been halting and punctuated by sporadic episodes of violence.

The UN’s nuclear agency, meanwhile, said in a confidential report seen by AFP on Thursday that a lack of access to verify nuclear material in Iran posed a “proliferation concern,” calling on the Islamic Republic to “engage the agency constructively.”

“While the agency acknowledged that the military attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and sites have created an unprecedented situation, it is critical for the agency to conduct verification activities in Iran without delay,” the IAEA said in the report.

Washington insists Tehran must turn over its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, agree to curb its nuclear activities and reopen Hormuz. Iran has blocked the strait since the beginning of the war, and the US imposed a blockade of Iranian ports in response.

Four Iranian tankers transit Hormuz

On Monday, however, four Iranian-flagged oil tankers passed through the strait, a first since April 15 and the US blockade, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler.

In data published on Thursday, the firm detected the passage of the Hilda I, the Amber, the Silvia 1, and the Happiness I, which were carrying a total of seven million barrels of oil. They all loaded their cargo in mid-April on Kharg Island, the country’s main oil terminal, through which 90 percent of the Islamic Republic’s crude oil normally transits.

The ships crossed the strait on Monday with their AIS transponders turned off. Kpler relies primarily on satellite imagery to track ships transporting raw materials.

Three other oil tankers linked to Iran had already defied the blockade on April 15, according to Kpler. None had attempted to do so since.

Reports: Mossad gave Kurds arms from Hamas, Hezbollah

At the start of the war, in an effort to bring about the fall of the Iranian regime, the Mossad spy agency, working with the CIA, carried out an initiative to arm Kurdish militias outside Iran with weapons seized in conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah, according to Hebrew media reports on Thursday.

The reports by Channel 12 and Ynet, which did not cite sources, emerged days after David Barnea stepped down as Mossad chief after five years in the role.

Under the plan, the Kurds received financial assistance and vehicles, and were armed with small arms, anti-tank launchers, grenades and mortars. Mossad was responsible for delivering the weapons and ammunition to the Kurds, the reports said.

There have been reports since late March of a US-Israeli plan for Kurdish militia forces to enter Iran early in the campaign against Tehran, in the hope of spurring a rebellion that would bring down the Islamic Republic.

But according to media reports, leaks to the media, lobbying by international actors — including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and wariness among the Kurds themselves led US President Donald Trump to pull the plug on the idea.

Trump has himself said that the US tried to transfer weapons to protesters against the Iranian regime via the Kurds, but appeared to accuse Kurdish separatists of keeping the weapons for themselves.