The aging leader’s message was defiant but somber, delivered in front of a tan curtain flanked by an Iranian flag and a portrait of his predecessor.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed victory over the United States and Israel Thursday in his first public statement since a Monday ceasefire ended the "12 Day War." Khamenei had been absent from the public sphere for nearly a week before his Thursday statement,

U.S. intel agencies say Iran's nuclear program is in tatters. Israel killed 30 Iranian military commanders. But Iran's supreme leader has a different take on the 12-day war.