On Monday, October 20, 2025, a defiant Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, delivered a blistering rebuke to the United States, dismissing President Donald Trump’s claims that U.S. airstrikes had destroyed Iran’s nuclear program and rejecting a renewed American offer for nuclear talks. The remarks, made during a spirited meeting with hundreds of Iranian athletes and scientific Olympiad medalists in Tehran, have sent ripples through the already tense relations between Tehran and Washington.
According to Reuters, Khamenei’s remarks followed a dramatic escalation in June, when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Iran, and the U.S. briefly joined in, targeting key Iranian nuclear facilities. The 12-day conflict erupted just two days before a planned sixth round of indirect nuclear negotiations between the two nations, talks that have now been derailed indefinitely.
Trump, speaking last week to the Israeli parliament after brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, boasted, “So we dropped 14 bombs on Iran’s key nuclear facilities. Totally as I said originally obliterating them and that’s been confirmed.” In a Fox News interview, he doubled down, describing the strikes as “the most beautiful military operation” and claiming Iran “no longer became the bully of the Middle East” after the attacks. Yet, the Pentagon’s own assessment, reported by The Times of Israel, found the strikes delayed Iran’s nuclear program by between one and two years—contradicting an earlier classified U.S. intelligence report that estimated only a few months’ setback.
Ayatollah Khamenei, however, was quick to laugh off Trump’s claims. “Very well, in your dreams!” he posted on X, formerly Twitter, as cited by Saba News. Addressing the American president directly, he said, “Keep dreaming,” and questioned, “Who are you to set dos and don’ts for a country simply because it possesses a nuclear industry? What does it have to do with the United States whether Iran has nuclear capabilities or not? Such interference is inappropriate, wrong, and bullying.”
The Supreme Leader’s tone was both mocking and resolute. “Trump says he is a dealmaker, but if a deal is accompanied by coercion and its outcome is predetermined, it is not a deal but an imposition and bullying,” Khamenei declared, as reported by al24news and Reuters. He further accused Trump of “boosting the morale of the Zionists and making himself look powerful through lies about Iran, the region, and its people.”
Khamenei’s rejection of renewed talks was unequivocal. “The outcome of any deal offered by Trump is predetermined,” he insisted, labeling Washington’s approach as “imposition and bullying.” He reminded his audience that Tehran and Washington had engaged in five rounds of indirect nuclear negotiations, which collapsed amid the June air war when Israeli and U.S. bombs struck Iranian nuclear sites. The Supreme Leader’s stance was clear: Iran would only consider negotiations if the U.S. provided guarantees of no military action—a position that has left the diplomatic process at a standstill.
Western powers, including the U.S., have long accused Iran of covertly developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian energy program, citing uranium enrichment activities that have little obvious peaceful application. Iran, for its part, has consistently denied these allegations, insisting its program is solely for energy purposes. Yet, as The Times of Israel notes, Iran has enriched uranium to levels that raise international concern, obstructed international inspectors, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities.
Khamenei’s speech was not limited to nuclear issues. He used the occasion to praise Iran’s youth, calling the athletes and Olympiad winners “symbols of national power and growth.” According to Kashmir Observer, he told them, “The youth of Iran have the strength to stand on the peaks and draw the world’s attention to the bright horizon of Iran.” He recounted the ingenuity and courage of Iranian youth during the 1980s war with Iraq and lauded Iran’s military resilience, highlighting the June missile strikes that reportedly struck deep into Israeli territory. “These missiles were prepared and used by our armed forces and military industries, and they still have them. If necessary, they will use them again,” he warned.
The Supreme Leader also turned his ire on the U.S. for its role in the recent Gaza conflict. He accused Washington of being “the main partner in the Zionist regime’s crimes,” pointing to American-supplied weapons used in attacks on civilians. “More than 20,000 children and infants were martyred in the Gaza war. Were they terrorists? The real terrorist is the U.S., which created Daesh, unleashed it on the region, and even today holds some of its members in a certain area for its own use,” Khamenei charged, as reported by Kashmir Observer. He questioned the presence of American military bases across West Asia, asserting, “The U.S. is a warmonger that fuels terrorism and ignites wars. Otherwise, what is the purpose of all these U.S. military bases in the region? What are you doing here? What connection does this region have to you?”
Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West has deep roots. The 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), placed strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. However, the U.S. withdrew from the deal in 2018 during Trump’s first term, arguing it was too weak to curb Iran’s ambitions. Since then, Iran has ramped up its enrichment and faced renewed UN sanctions after the agreement’s expiration.
For now, the diplomatic impasse continues. Iran’s leadership remains steadfast in its refusal to yield to American pressure, while Washington insists that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions must be checked. The June conflict and its aftermath have only deepened mistrust on both sides, with each accusing the other of aggression, deceit, and bad faith.
As the world watches, the standoff between Iran and the U.S. over nuclear capabilities, regional power, and the future of diplomacy in the Middle East remains as volatile as ever. The words exchanged this week—sharp, unyielding, and deeply personal—leave little room for compromise in the near term.
