Deflection tactic: White House dismisses Khamenei’s remarks

Shafaq News – Washington/Tehran

On Thursday, the White House rejected Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s response to recent US airstrikes, framing his comments as a deflection tactic under growing internal and external pressure.

“When you have a totalitarian regime, you need to save face,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, responding to Khamenei’s televised speech earlier in the day.

In his first public appearance since the strikes, Khamenei downplayed the damage, claiming the United States “achieved nothing.” He framed Iran’s response as “a slap in America’s face” and accused Washington of inflating its actions for political gain, citing President Donald Trump.

Khamenei referenced Iran’s missile strike on Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar—a major US military installation in the Gulf—as proof of Tehran’s retaliation capabilities, alleging substantial damage. He warned that any future attack on Iranian territory would prompt direct strikes on American forces.

The Trump administration pushed back on the narrative, calling Iran’s portrayal misleading and asserting that the US strikes were targeted, limited in scope, and designed to degrade Iran’s military infrastructure while avoiding broader conflict.

The strikes, conducted earlier this week, targeted Iranian nuclear facilities and formed part of Washington’s response to what it described as Tehran’s accelerated nuclear development.