It's ironic that Ayatollah Khamenei claims "victory" over the U.S. and Israel, yet does so from hiding after vanishing for weeks amid fears of assassination and failing to reassure his own people. His boasts of power ring hollow after having first let his nuclear site get blown up, followed by a weak video response delivered from the shadows of a bunker.
Critics mock Khamenei for speaking from a secure location, yet overlook what his message revealed: Iran, under siege, struck U.S. and Israeli assets and maintained unity. Far from hiding, Khamenei led a nation that endured assault without surrender, emerging ever more defiant.
There is a 39% chance that Iran will attack U.S. sites in Iraq before August 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.