'Zionist enemy made...big mistake': Khamenei's 1st reaction after US strikes
What's the story
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that the "Zionist enemy" is being punished after the United States bombed Tehran's three key nuclear facilities. The facilities targeted were Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. "The Zionist enemy has made a big mistake, committed a big crime; it must be punished and it is being punished; it is being punished right now," he wrote on X.
Twitter Post
Check out his post here
#همین_حالا
— KHAMENEI.IR | فارسی 🇮🇷 (@Khamenei_fa) June 23, 2025
مجازات ادامه دارد
دشمن صهیونی یک اشتباه بزرگی کرده، یک جنایت بزرگی را مرتکب شده؛ باید مجازات بشود و دارد مجازات میشود؛ همین حالا دارد مجازات میشود.#الله_اکبر pic.twitter.com/wH6Wk9nNhJ
Escalating tensions
Khamenei's warning to US
Earlier, Khamenei warned Washington to expect "greater damage and blows than ever before." He is currently believed to be hiding in an underground bunker due to fears of assassination since the Israeli assault began. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has also vowed that the United States will "receive a response" after its unprecedented airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Retaliatory threats
US strikes and Khamenei's threats
Following the US strikes, Khamenei's aide, Hossein Shariatmadari, had earlier called for a missile strike on the US naval fleet in Bahrain and proposed closing the Strait of Hormuz to Western ships. "It is now our turn to act without delay. As a first step, we must launch a missile strike on the US naval fleet in Bahrain and simultaneously close the Strait of Hormuz to American, British, German, and French ships," he told an Iranian media.
Leadership concerns
Khamenei names potential successors
Amid fears of assassination, Khamenei has reportedly chosen replacements in his military command. He has also named three clerics as potential successors if he is killed. According to two Iranian officials cited by the NTY, Iran's intelligence ministry has ordered all high government officials and military commanders to remain underground in case they are targeted. The ministry has reportedly ordered staff to stop utilizing electronic communications, and Khamenei now talks with his commanders exclusively through a trusted aide.