IRAN (TNND) — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared victory over Israel on Thursday in his first public statement since a ceasefire was declared between Israel and Iran.

He stated that his country had "delivered a hand slap to America's face" and that the U.S. only intervened in the war because “it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed.”

Khamenei suggested the U.S. "gained no achievements from this war," adding that Iran was able to emerge "victorious."

Israel began airstrikes on Iran two weeks ago in an effort to destroy its nuclear facilities before the U.S. stepped in and "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program with bunker-buster bombs. Iran responded by striking an American base in Qatar.

"Last weekend, the United States successfully carried out a massive precision strike on Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities, and it was very, very successful—It was called OBLITERATION," President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday. "This incredible exercise of American strength has paved the way for peace, with a historic ceasefire agreement."

Trump dropped the f-bomb on Tuesday after learning Israel and Iran briefly broke the hours-old ceasefire.

"We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f--- they're doing," Trump told reporters at the White House before flying to the NATO summit at The Hague. "You understand that?"

Seven B-2 bombers flew 7,000 miles from Missouri to Iran, deploying 14 GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs, marking the first combat use of the powerful munitions.

Concurrently, a U.S. Navy submarine launched 24 Tomahawk missiles at Isfahan, resulting in damage to the targeted nuclear sites.

The 86-year-old Khamenei hasn't been seen in public since taking shelter in a secret location after the outbreak of the war on June 13.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to hold "a major news conference" on Thursday and discuss what Trump called a way "to fight for the Dignity of our Great American Pilots."

Trump has been calling out the "fake news" after CNN and MSNBC published reports downplaying the success of the strikes on Iran.

"These Patriots were very upset! After 36 hours of dangerously flying through Enemy Territory, they landed, they knew the Success was LEGENDARY, and then, two days later, they started reading Fake News by CNN and The Failing New York Times," Trump said on Truth Social.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.