Iranian leader Khamenei: Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon to be ‘first condition’ of any agreement with US

In a rare public statement, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday reaffirmed his regime’s insistence on an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon as a precondition for an agreement to end the war with Iran.

The statement came shortly after the United States halted a series of strikes against Iran, as U.S. President Donald Trump again signaled on Friday that he preferred a diplomatic solution.

However, media reports suggested that concern over the dwindling supply of air defense munitions had delayed an order to significantly escalate strikes against Iran.

In his statement, Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public since taking office, said that “there remains no path… except jihad and resistance” in the face of the “oppression and injustice” of the U.S. and “the crimes of the Zionists who spread corruption on the earth and destroy crops and offspring.”

TRUMP: Claims Iranian oil tanker now belongs to United States pic.twitter.com/tS8S52pMSR

— Trump Truths (@trumptruthsbot) July 26, 2026

Iranian media outlets, which are affiliated with or controlled to varying degrees by different factions within the regime, celebrated the halt of the U.S. strikes as a victory and mocked Trump, alleging that the decision was driven by depleted ammunition supplies and concerns over further military losses.

Local newspapers carried extensive coverage of the alleged damage Iranian missile strikes caused to U.S. bases across the region. For example, the Hamshahri reported that the U.S. was forced to stop its attacks due to the rise in oil prices, fear of the expansion of the war, and Iran's “intelligence and operational superiority.”

Meanwhile, Trump denied the reports of dwindling munitions, telling The Wall Street Journal, “We have far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need.” 

He doubled down on this message with a string of AI-generated images shared on Truth Social.

TRUMP: Posts image depicting U.S. attacks on Iran under “Guardians of the World” pic.twitter.com/PoJkR3imn0

— Trump Truths (@trumptruthsbot) July 26, 2026

One image underlined his threat of a “Strike on Kharg [Island]”, showing U.S. fighter jets bombing infrastructure on the key Iranian oil hub. He posted additional images showing U.S. aircraft bombing Iranian targets under the headline, “Guardians of the World,” and showing images of Iranian oil tankers being seized, accompanied by captions such as, “It’s our oil tanker now,” or, “Goodbye, Engine Room.”

Yoni Ben Menachem, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said Israel’s assessment is that the current pause in fighting is temporary. "There is a two-day pause in the mutual strikes, but it will resume."

"It doesn't seem to me that Trump is sending dozens of aerial refueling aircraft here and making extensive preparations, in other areas, while knowing that he is short of interceptors," he added. "Apparently, he is nevertheless still seriously examining the option of expanding the fighting."

Trump administration officials have repeatedly stated that the negotiations with Iranian officials have continued behind the scenes. On Thursday, U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio said, “Iran is begging us, both directly and indirectly, ‘Let’s do a deal. Let’s talk,'” while speaking to reporters in Manila, Philippines.

“The problem with Iran is every time they make a deal, the people in charge either break it or they want to change it. So it looks like they’re not ready to make a deal, so they’re going to continue to pay a price, and every night the price gets higher and higher.”

Khamenei’s statement on Sunday was addressed to Hezbollah and reaffirmed Iran's position that the fighting against the U.S. was inherently linked to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon.

He praised the terror group as “the pioneer of the factions of jihad,” while vowing that “defending these oppressed yet capable mujahideen [remains] a fixed strategic policy” of the regime.

“It has also made the preservation of Lebanese sovereignty, and the complete ending of the aggression of the Zionist entity without any restriction or condition, the first condition in the memorandum of understanding to end the war imposed together with the aggressive America.”

Israel has repeatedly stated that the IDF’s withdrawal from Lebanon is contingent on the disarmament of Hezbollah forces, which was also included as a condition in the agreement with the Lebanese government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to depart Israel on Monday to meet with Trump in Washington. He said in a statement on Sunday that he plans to “discuss all pending issues with President Trump, including the situation in Iran.”