Khamenei claims ‘victory’ over Israel, US – DW – 06/26/2025

The Trump administration continues to be “in close communication” with Iran but no talks are currently scheduled regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

Speaking at the NATO summit earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced fresh talks with Iran for the week ahead, without offering details. There has been no confirmation from the Iranians, however.

“We don’t have anything scheduled as of now, but I spoke to our special envoy (Steve) Witkoff at length this morning, and I can assure all of you, we continue to be in close communication with the Iranians and through our intermediaries as well,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House.

Leavitt said Washington “is always focused on diplomacy and peace, and we want to ensure we can get to a place where Iran agrees to a non-enrichment civil nuclear program.”

A sixth round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program between the United States and Iran should have taken place in Oman on June 15, but were shelved after Israel launched air attacks on Iran two days earlier.

Following over a week of missile attacks between Iran and Israel, US forces bombed some nuclear sites in Iran over the weekend with mixed reports over how successful the mission was.

Trump claimed that the strikes “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities while the Pentagon suggested the onslaught did not destroy the core components of the Iran’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by a few months.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has insisted that his country’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were a “historic success.” But the true extent of the damage remains unclear. 

The US State Department said it has approved its first direct funding to support the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial Israeli-supported relief effort in the Gaza Strip.

“We have approved funding for $30 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. And we call on other countries to also support the GHF, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and its critical work,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters.

“This support is simply the latest iteration of President [Donald] Trump’s and [Secretary of State Marco] Rubio’s pursuit of peace in the region,” he added.

The GHF aims to replace the work of UNRWA, a UN agency accused by Israel of providing cover for the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

A series of international probes found some “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA but said Israel had never provided evidence for its allegations.

The GHF began operating last month after Israel imposed a nearly three-month blockade on the region.

The foundation has been widely criticized by international human rights and aid organizations, which accuse Israel of “weaponizing” the distribution of aid and violating the principle of neutrality.

There have been almost daily reports of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire near GHF distribution points.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the outcome of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran presented an opportunity for peace that his country should not waste.

“We have fought with determination against Iran and achieved a great victory. This victory opens the path to dramatically enlarge the peace accords,” Netanyahu said in a video address.

His comment seemed to refer to the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements brokered by the United States which established diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco.

The United States and Israel have long hoped to extend the accords to regional power and major oil producer Saudi Arabia. Talks on Riyadh’s normalization of ties with Israel were put on ice in October 2023, shortly after the start of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which followed the Hamas militant group’s attacks on southern Israel.

Following the war with Iran, Israel announced that it would refocus its efforts on Gaza, where Hamas militants are holding Israeli hostages.

“Alongside the freeing of hostages and defeat of Hamas, there is a window of opportunity that must not be missed. We cannot waste even a single day,” Netanyahu added.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said that he expected more countries to join the Abraham Accords.

European Union leaders called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged Israel to respect humanitarian law at a summit in Brussels.

However, they did not take action regarding the EU’s ties with Israel in light of a human rights review published last week.

In the review, the EU’s diplomatic service said there were indications Israel had breached its human rights obligations under the terms of its association agreement with the bloc.

Read more from DW’s coverage of the EU summit here.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth hailed US President Donald Trump’s weekend strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“President Trump created the conditions to end the war, decimating — choose your word — obliterating, destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” Hegseth told journalists at the Pentagon on Thursday.

Hegseth also claimed that there was no US intelligence that confirmed if Iran had moved enriched uranium out of the Fordo nuclear enrichment facility, buried deep below a mountain. Iran previously claimed it moved nuclear material out of the site ahead of the strikes.

“If you want to know what’s going on at Fordo, you better go there and get a big shovel,” Hegseth added.

Trump later appeared to be satisfied by the Pentagon press conference.

“One of the greatest, most professional, and most ‘confirming’ news conferences I have ever seen!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “The Fake News should fire everyone involved in this witch hunt, and apologize to our great warriors, and everyone else!”

Attacks on Iran’s nuclear and military facilities could cause long-term ecological damage, including soil contamination. 

Read the full story on the possible environmental impact of the war.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued his first public statement since the war with Israel came to a halt.

In a post on his X account, Khamenei hailed what he called “the victory” over Israel and the US.

According to Khamenei, the US gained no achievement from this war, and only entered the war because it felt that Israel “would be completely destroyed” had it not been for Washington’s intervention.

“With all that commotion and all those claims, the Zionist regime was practically knocked out and crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei posted.

Misinformation — much of it created using AI — has flooded the internet since the start of the war between Israel and Iran. DW’s fact-checking team has prepared this report.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul urged Iran not to stop its work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Wadephul also said diplomatic efforts should focus on “finding a binding agreement” with Iran as soon as possible.

This comes after the Iranian parliament voted in favor of suspending any work with the IAEA, with parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf condemning the UN watchdog for not condemning the strikes carried out by Israel and the US on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The AFP news agency quoted Ghalibaf as saying on Iranian state television that the IAEA “refused to even marginally condemn the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities” and had “put its international credibility up for auction.”

US President Donald Trump called on the Israeli authorities to cancel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was “shocked to hear” that the trial continues, calling it a “ridiculous witch hunt against” Netanyahu, which Trump labeled as “Great War Time Prime Minister.”

Trump also said the trial is “politically motivated.”

According to Trump, the trial should be canceled, or alternatively, Netanyahu should be pardoned.

“It was the United States of America that saved Israel, and now it is going to be the United States of America that saves Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump posted.

Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of Trust, with the trial beginning in 2020. He denies the allegations against him.

US and Iranian officials are set to meet next week in an attempt to refuel the nuclear negotiations between the two sides, President Donald Trump said.

The meeting comes as the ceasefire between Israel and Iran has been holding, with Trump having brokered the truce.

“We may sign an agreement, I don’t know,” Trump told reporters.

“The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done.”

Iran has not acknowledged talks taking place next week, although Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said there had been contact between the countries.

Three Palestinians were shot dead in the West Bank following an attack by Israeli settlers and the following intervention by the Israeli army, local officials reported.

Seven others were injured, one of them critically.

The local mayor said that more than 100 settlers attacked the village of Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah, by setting vehicles and houses on fire.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on its X account that “dozens” of Israelis set fire to property in al-Mughayyir, another nearby village.

US President Donald Trump said officials from Iran and the US are set to meet next week in a bid to refuel talks over a nuclear deal.

This comes as the ceasefire between Iran and Israel appears to be holding.

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers carried out attacks against a Palestinian village. Three Palestinians were shot dead.

Follow along for the latest news on the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, as well as news, videos and analyses from the wider Middle East region.