President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at Iran’s supreme leader for continuing to beat the rhetorical war drum rather than express gratitude for Trump’s decision not to order his assassination at the hands of American and Israeli forces during his country’s 12-day war with Israel this month.

In a Truth Social post, the president groused that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the octogenarian cleric who has headed Iran’s religious fundamentalist government since 1989, had boasted publicly of having won that short conflict, calling the Iranian leader’s claim “a lie.”

“As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie. His Country was decimated, his three evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life,” Trump said.

He added: “I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, ‘THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!’”

Trump also suggested that Khamenei should be expressing gratitude for the president’s role in pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recall Israel Air Force fighters in the hours before a cease-fire between Israel and Iran went into effect earlier this week, claiming that those planes “were heading directly to Tehran, looking for a big day, perhaps the final knockout!”

“Tremendous damage would have ensued, and many Iranians would have been killed. It was going to be the biggest attack of the War, by far,” Trump added.

Continuing, Trump claimed that he’d spent “the last few days” working on how to lift longstanding — and in his words, “BITING” — U.S. sanctions on Tehran to enable the country to have “much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery.”

But he further complained that Khamenei’s “statement of anger, hatred, and disgust” had caused him to have “immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more.”

“Iran has to get back into the World Order flow, or things will only get worse for them. They are always so angry, hostile, and unhappy, and look at what it has gotten them - A burned out, blown up Country, with no future, a decimated Military, a horrible Economy, and DEATH all around them,” he said, adding later that Tehran’s leadership had “no hope” and things would “only get worse” until they “realize that you often get more with HONEY than you do with VINEGAR.”

The president’s pugnacious outburst against Iran’s de facto leader came just days after American B-2 stealth bombers dropped more than a dozen 30,000 pound bunker-busting bombs onto a trio of Iranian nuclear sites in what was the largest military action against Tehran since a failed mission to rescue hostages held at the then-American embassy there in 1979.

Trump has claimed the bombing runs — plus dozens of cruise missiles launched from an American guided missile submarine — “obliterated” the Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear facilities as part of what American officials called “Operation Midnight Hammer.”

The Trump administration has hoped that the strikes that it conducted could force Iran to accept US conditions and stop taking steps toward obtaining a nuclear weapon.

But the Iranian parliament voted on Wednesday to fast-track a proposal to effectively stop cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear oversight agency.

The United States had initially planned to conduct a sixth round of negotiations before Israel struck Iran.

Ahead of the Trump administration conducting its strikes on Saturday, it notified Iran through intermediaries that the strikes would be limited to notify the regime that strikes would be limited and that the United States would not accept any uranium enrichment.

At the same time, administration officials have discussed a plan to lure Iran back to the negotiating table including an option to have Arab nations investing $20-30 billion in a non-enrichment nuclear program for Iran for energy purposes while also allowing Iran to access $6 billion sitting in foreign bank accounts that it current cannot access, as well as lifting some foreign sanctions.

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Iran's supreme leader slams Trump just days after US strikes on nuclear sites

The ceasefire between Israel and Iran did not stop Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from firing off a post on X, slamming President Donald Trump.

"The U.S. president stated, ‘Iran must surrender.’ Needless to say, this statement is too big to come out of the U.S. president's mouth," Khamenei wrote.

On June 17, a few days before the U.S. carried out the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Trump took to Truth Social to demand an "unconditional surrender" from Tehran. In a separate message on the same day, Trump said the U.S. had "complete and total control of the skies over Iran."

Trump also took a swipe at Khamenei himself, saying that the U.S. knew where the Iranian leader was hiding.

"We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding," Trump wrote. "He is an easy target, but is safe there — we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin."

"Under President Trump’s leadership, Operation Midnight Hammer was executed perfectly — obliterating Iran’s nuclear capabilities and bringing them to the table for a ceasefire. This historic outcome was only possible because of America’s military might and the strength of our Commander in Chief," White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital.

Khamenei’s remarks appeared aimed more at projecting strength than reflecting reality.

Following Iran’s attack on Al-Udeid, the American airbase in Qatar, Khamenei bragged that Iran "delivered a heavy slap to the U.S.’s face." However, Trump called it a "very weak response" before revealing that Iran gave the U.S. "early notice" of its planned retaliation.

"Iran has officially responded to our obliteration of their nuclear facilities with a very weak response, which we expected, and have very effectively countered. There have been 14 missiles fired — 13 were knocked down, and 1 was ‘set free,’ because it was headed in a nonthreatening direction. I am pleased to report that NO Americans were harmed, and hardly any damage was done," Trump wrote. "I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice, which made it possible for no lives to be lost, and nobody to be injured."

Since Israel launched its operation against Iran, Khamenei has been in hiding and, according to Reuters, his family is being guarded by the Vali-ye Amr special forces unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. Some believed — and even hoped — that the end of the nuclear program would also mean the end of the Islamic Republic’s rule; however, reports of an internal security crackdown have made the possibility of regime change seem less likely.

The regime is reportedly carrying out mass arrests and executions. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Monday that 705 individuals had been arrested in Iran on "political or security-related charges." Many of the charges involve allegations of espionage on behalf of Israel.

Three people have reportedly already been executed for allegedly spying on behalf of the Mossad, Israel’s equivalent of the CIA, NBC News reported, citing Tasnim, which is affiliated with the IRGC.

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Trump tells Iran's supreme leader: 'You got beat to hell'

President Donald Trump on Friday scoffed at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s heated warning to the U.S. not to launch future strikes on Iran, as well as the Iranian supreme leader's assertion that Tehran “won the war" with Israel.

Trump, in remarks to reporters and later in an extended statement on social media, said the ayatollah's comments defied reality after 12 days of Israeli strikes and the U.S. bombardment of three key nuclear sites inflicted severe damage on the country's nuclear program. The president suggested Khamenei's comments were unbecoming of Iran's most powerful political and religious figure.

“Look, you’re a man of great faith. A man who’s highly respected in his country. You have to tell the truth," Trump said of Khamenei. "You got beat to hell.”

The U.S. president spoke out a day after Khamenei insisted Tehran had delivered a “slap to America’s face” by striking a U.S. air base in Qatar and warned against further attacks by the U.S. or Israel on Iran. Khamenei’s pre-recorded statement, which aired on Iranian state television, was the first time that Iranians had heard directly from the supreme leader in days.

The heated rhetoric from Trump and Khamenei continued as both leaders face difficult questions about the impact of the strikes.

Trump and his aides have pushed back vociferously after an early damage assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency became public and indicated that the U.S. bombardment likely only set back Tehran's nuclear program by months. The 86-year-old Khamenei, the most powerful figure in Iran's theocracy, meanwhile, has appeared intent on demonstrating his authority and vigor amid speculation about his health and how involved he was in making Iran's wartime decisions through the 12-day conflict.

In a social media post Friday, Trump also appeared to refer to a plan presented to the White House by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in the first days of the Israel-Iran conflict to try to kill Khamenei. Trump vetoed that plan, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“His Country was decimated, his three evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life,” Trump posted on Truth Social. "I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, “THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!”

Trump, after the U.S. airstrikes, sent chilling warnings via social media to Khamenei that the U.S. knew where he was but had no plans to kill him, “at least for now."

After launching the U.S. strikes — including with U.S.-made bunker-buster bombs — Trump has been insistent that Iran's nuclear sites have been “obliterated." Administration officials have not disputed the contents of the DIA report but have sought to focus on a CIA statement and other intelligence assessments, including those out of Iran and Israel, that said the strikes severely damaged the nuclear sites and rendered an enrichment facility inoperable.

Trump also said that he expects Iran to open itself to international inspection to verify it doesn’t restart its nuclear program.

Asked if he would demand during expected talks with Iran that the International Atomic Energy Agency or some other organization be authorized to conduct inspections, Trump told reporters the Islamic Republic would have to cooperate with the IAEA “or somebody that we respect, including ourselves.”

White House officials have said they expect to restart talks soon with Iran, though nothing has been scheduled.

U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this week said there has been direct and indirect communication between the countries. A sixth round of U.S.-Iran negotiations was scheduled for earlier this month in Oman but was canceled after Israel attacked Iran.

Trump expressed confidence that Iran's nuclear ambition has faded.

“Can I tell you, they’re exhausted. And Israel’s exhausted, too,” Trump said. He added, “The last thing they’re thinking right now is nuclear.”

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Iran supreme leader: US ‘achieved nothing’ from war

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday the U.S. “achieved nothing” from its military strikes on his nation and warned against any further attacks.

In his first public remarks since the U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear sites Saturday, Khamenei declared victory in the conflict and pushed back on President Trump’s claims that the strikes were a “spectacular military success.”

“My congratulations on our dear Iran’s victory over the US regime. The US regime entered the war directly because it felt that if it didn’t, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed,” Khamenei said in his more-than 10 minute address, according to a translated passage posted to his account on the social platform X.

“It entered the war in an effort to save that regime but achieved nothing,” he added.

Trump has said that the strikes “obliterated Iran’s nuclear program,” but the Iranian supreme leader pushed back on that assessment.

“The American president exaggerated events in unusual ways, and it turned out that he needed this exaggeration,” Khamenei said in the address, the AFP reported.

“The US President stated, ‘Iran must surrender.’ Needless to say, this statement is too big to come out of the US president’s mouth,” Khamenei added.

The White House has pointed to claims suggesting the operation was a success, including by Iran’s own foreign ministry spokesperson, who reportedly said, “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure.”

“Under President Trump’s leadership, Operation Midnight Hammer was executed perfectly – obliterating Iran’s nuclear capabilities and bringing them to the table for a ceasefire,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement to The Hill.

“This historic outcome was only possible because of America’s military might and the strength of our Commander in Chief,” she added.

The supreme leader’s speech was broadcast on state-run media and was his first appearance since June 19, according to The Associated Press.

The AP noted that Khamenei “looked and sounded more tired than he did only a week ago, speaking in a hoarse voice and occasionally stumbling over his words.”

The ayatollah highlighted the Iranian counterattack on the U.S. airbase in Qatar, saying, “The Islamic Republic delivered a heavy slap to the US’s face,” even though it resulted in no casualties.

“It attacked and inflicted damage on the Al-Udeid Air Base, which is one of the key US bases in the region,” he continued.

He also warned the U.S. against taking any further action.

“The fact that the Islamic Republic has access to key US centers in the region and can take action whenever it deems necessary is a significant matter,” he said. “Such an action can be repeated in the future too. Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price.”