Iran’s Leader Stays Defiant as Trump Weighs War Intervention (1)

June 18, 2025, 1:23 PM UTC

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected President Donald Trump’s demands for complete capitulation and predicted “irreparable damage” if the US joins Israel in bombarding his country.

“The Americans should know that the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” Khamenei said in a statement published on his official website on Wednesday. “Any military incursion by the United States will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage.”

The defiant tone lays the ground for a potential showdown between Iran and the US, after White House diplomatic maneuvering and a series of Trump social media posts appeared to indicate the US leader ...

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