Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Israel war meant to 'overthrow system' in Iran
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that Israel's attacks aimed to destabilize Iran. The attacks included bombings and targeted killings. Iran retaliated with drone and missile strikes. The United States also launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States have stalled. Iran demands guarantees against future military action. Iranian parliament has set preconditions for negotiations.
AP In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting with judiciary officials in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Israel's attacks during last month's 12-day war were intended to weaken the Islamic republic's system and spark unrest to topple it."The calculation and plan of the aggressors was to weaken the system by targeting certain figures and sensitive centres in Iran," said Khamenei in a statement published on his website. He said the move was meant to stir "unrest and bring people into the streets to overthrow the system".Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran on June 13, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists.Iranian authorities said more than 1,000 people were killed in Iran.
The attacks set off a 12-day war in Iran responded with drone and missile fire, killing 28 people in Israel, according to Israeli authorities.On June 22, Israel's ally the United States launched unprecedented strikes of its own on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.Israel's attacks took place two days before Iran and the United States were scheduled to meet for a sixth round of nuclear talks which had begun on April 12. The talks have not since resumed. Tehran has reiterated that it remains open to diplomacy provided that Washington offers guarantees it will not resort to military action against the Islamic republic. On Wednesday, Iran's parliament ruled out negotiations without meeting certain "preconditions", without specifying any of them. In his statement, Khamenei said Iranian diplomacy and the military should excercise "care and precision" in the way ahead, without elaborating.
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On July 15, the next day, a government-announced cease-fire fell apart after influential Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri—who has strong ties to the Druze in Israel—refused to give it his backing, accusing government forces of continued attacks against Druze civilians. 'We are being subjected to a campaign of complete extermination," he told his followers in a video. 'We must resist this barbaric assault with every means available." The surge of sectarian bloodletting intensified, as artillery and rockets pounded Sweida, with hundreds of Druze and Bedouin civilians killed, according to the United Nations. Thousands of Druze residents of Sweida fled toward the Jordanian border, while others escaped to the countryside. At Radwan's residence where he and his family hid, his 20-year-old daughter made a plea. ''Dad, for God's sake, if they get in and want to kill us, kill me yourself,'" Radwan recalls her saying. ''Strangle us, hit us on the head. Just don't let them be the ones to kill us.'" 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