Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s “supreme leader,” dismissed concerns about the country’s nuclear program and denounced President Donald Trump’s call for the nation to “surrender.”

Speaking for the first time since Trump declared a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, Khamenei brushed aside concerns that the country was building nuclear weapons. He also said Trump’s call for surrender is “far too grand for the mouth of the U.S. President.” 

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“It’s not about enrichment anymore, it’s not about the nuclear industry, it’s about Iran surrendering,” Khamenei said on state television. “They bring up various excuses, but the essence of the matter is just one thing: Iran’s surrender.”

Khamenei attacked American actions against Iran, and said previous leaders always had an “excuse”: from “human rights,” to “defending democracy,” to “women’s rights,” to “enrichment,” to “nuclear energy,” to “missile development.”

Iran had stockpiled enough uranium for nine nuclear bombs, the International Atomic Energy Agency recently said. While civilian nuclear reactors only require uranium to be 3 to 5 percent enriched, Iran reportedly had 60 percent enriched uranium – 400 kg of it. Nuclear weapons require 90 percent enriched uranium. 

“They were very close to a nuclear weapon,” said Vice President J.D. Vance on Fox News. “Now they cannot build a nuclear weapon. That is the biggest testament to the President’s leadership.”

Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on June 17 on Truth Social. When a reporter asked him what he meant, he said, “Very simple. Unconditional surrender.”

“I’ve had it, I give up, no more. Then we go blow up all the nuclear stuff that’s all over the place there,” Trump said. “For 40 years, they’ve been saying ‘Death to America,’ ‘Death to Israel,’ death to anybody else that they didn’t like.”

After Israel launched preemptive airstrikes on Iran, the nation retaliated with strikes against Israel. America bombed Iran’s nuclear sites on June 21, as The Dallas Express reported at the time. In response, Iran launched missiles at an American base in Qatar. Since then, the nations have reached a ceasefire agreement.

Trump said Iran’s leaders have been “bullies” for years.

“They were schoolyard bullies. And now, they’re not bullies anymore,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t say that we won anything yet. I would say that we sure as hell made a lot of progress.”