Khamenei Tells Trump to ‘Keep Dreaming’ Over Claims U.S. Destroyed Iran’s Nuclear Program

Key Facts

Published: October 21, 2025 Location: Tehran Source: Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel

• Khamenei mocks Trump’s claim of destroying Iran’s nuclear program: “Keep dreaming.”
• Supreme leader rejects U.S. calls for new nuclear talks, calls diplomacy “bullying.”
• U.S. intelligence reportedly shows Iran’s nuclear program only delayed, not destroyed.
• Iran ends IAEA inspection agreement after reinstatement of U.N. sanctions.

(Worthy News) – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims that American airstrikes had wiped out Iran’s nuclear industry, telling the president to “keep dreaming.”

“Trump says they bombed and destroyed Iran’s nuclear industry. Very well, keep dreaming!” Khamenei said in remarks posted to his official website. “What business does America have interfering in whether Iran has nuclear facilities or not? These interventions are illegitimate, wrong, and arrogant.”

The rebuke came a week after Trump’s address to Israel’s Knesset, where he touted the June U.S. air campaign against Iran as a decisive blow that “obliterated” the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capability. Khamenei rejected that narrative and accused Washington of using coercion to impose its will on other nations.

“Trump says he is a dealmaker,” Khamenei continued, “but if a deal is accompanied by coercion and its outcome predetermined, it is not a deal—it is bullying.”

The June strikes followed a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran that halted upcoming nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington. While Trump has maintained that Iran’s nuclear ambitions were “destroyed,” U.S. defense assessments indicate the program was only delayed by several months to two years.

Adding to the tensions, Iran on Monday officially scrapped its cooperation deal with the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), ending limited access for inspectors to Iranian nuclear sites. The decision followed the reinstatement of U.N. sanctions last month.

Western officials continue to accuse Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian energy program—charges Iran denies.

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