DUBAI — Iran’s supreme leader on Thursday gave his first address to the nation since a bruising conflict with Israel ended earlier this week. In a prerecorded video message, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei downplayed reports of severe damage to the country’s nuclear program following a wave of U.S. strikes and declared victory over both Israel and the United States.

“The Islamic republic slapped America in the face,” said Khamenei, 86. He said U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities did not do “anything important” and that the United States only intervened to save Israel from being “completely destroyed.”

The supreme leader’s message was defiant but his tone appeared somber. He has been in hiding for nearly two weeks as Israel, after launching surprise attacks on June 13, pummeled Tehran and other cities, killing senior military leadership and Iran’s nuclear brain trust. Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Israel and a U.S. air base in neighboring Qatar. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both suggested during the war that Khamenei was vulnerable and not immune from their strikes.

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In his address Thursday, the aging leader sat in front of a tan curtain flanked by an Iranian flag and a portrait of his predecessor and the founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He spoke directly to the camera, but it was unclear exactly when the video was recorded. He referred both to the ceasefire with Israel and Iran’s missile fire at the base in Qatar.

Also Thursday, Iran’s 12-member Guardian Council, an appointed body that reflects Khamenei’s preferences, approved a bill from parliament ordering the government to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors the country’s nuclear facilities. The move comes amid conflicting claims over the damage to Iran’s nuclear program, as well as the whereabouts of Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium.

In posts on X, Gen. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of parliament, said the measure meant that any cooperation with the nuclear watchdog, or the “entry of inspectors and officials” with the agency, would be prohibited until Iran received assurances “regarding the security of our nuclear facilities and scientists.” He also accused the IAEA of sharing information on Iran’s nuclear sites with Israel, and for failing to “even superficially” condemn attacks on the facilities.

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It was not immediately clear, however, whether the government would implement the measure, at a time when the Trump administration and others are pressing Iran to return to negotiations over the nuclear program. A previous round of talks was suspended earlier this month after Israel attacked Iran. A spokesman for the IAEA said Thursday that the agency was “aware” of reports of Iran’s suspension of cooperation, adding that “as of now, the IAEA has not received an official communication from Iran on this matter.”