US overplayed effect of strikes: Khamenei

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday his country had delivered a “slap to America’s face” with its strike on a US airbase in Qatar, and warned against any further attacks in his first public comments since a ceasefire was declared with Israel.

The 86-year-old spoke in a recorded video broadcast on Iranian state television, his first appearance since June 19.

The speech, which went on for more than 10 minutes, was filled with warnings and threats directed toward the United States and Israel. He downplayed Sunday’s US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites using bunker-buster bombs and cruise missiles, saying that US President Donald Trump — who said the attack “obliterated Iran’s nuclear programme — had “exaggerated” its impact.

REFERENCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES