‘Not a nation that surrenders’: Khamenei posted hours before Iran-Israel agreed to US-brokered ceasefire

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Hours before Donald Trump announced that Iran and Israel have agreed for a ceasefire, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran is “not a nation that surrenders."

President Donald Trump confirmed that a truce between the two arch-rivals had come into effect, urging both sides to honour the agreement following a week of deadly exchanges that brought the region to the brink of wider war.

Trump wrote “CONGRATULATIONS WORLD, IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!” on his Truth Social account. Trump later declared an end to what he called the “12 Day War,” crediting both Israel and Iran for averting a wider Middle East conflict.

Hours before that, Khamenei sent out a defiant message on X and said, "Those who know the Iranian people and their history know that the Iranian nation isn’t a nation that surrenders."

His post came a few hours after Iran launched missiles at US air bases in Qatar and Iraq in response to the bombings of its nuclear sites by the American Air Force and Navy in the early hours of June 22.

According to a statement issued by the Iranian Armed Forces, “the Al-Udeid base in Qatar was targeted with a devastating and powerful missile attack as part of Operation Besharat Fatah."

Earlier, Khamenei said that Tehran won’t accept any harassment under any circumstances. The Supreme Leader said that Iran didn’t target the civilians and vowed not to submit to anyone’s harassment.

“We didn’t harm anyone. And we will not accept any harassment from anyone under any circumstances. And we will not submit to anyone’s harassment; This is the logic of the Iranian nation," he said.

Israel-Iran conflict

The conflict began with major Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure starting June 13. Iran retaliated in Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Haifa.

The United States escalated its involvement by launching precision airstrikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. President Donald Trump announced the operation as a “very successful attack,” deploying B-2 stealth bombers and bunker-buster munitions.

In retaliation, Iran launched ballistic missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military facility in the Middle East, though the attack was intercepted and caused no injuries.

Gulf nations temporarily closed their airspace in solidarity but reopened it after a few hours.