Free Republic

Iran’s so-called “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei emerged from exile Thursday to claim victory over Israel and said his country had “delivered a hand slap to America’s face” in his first public comments since a ceasefire was declared in the war between the two countries. AP reports Khamenei spoke in a video broadcast on Iranian state television, his first public appearance since June 19 and aside from his sweeping claims on social media. Viewers were told the U.S. had only intervened in the war because “it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed.”...

According to a tweet from the meeting in St Petersburg, Mr Atambayev said that Mr Putin "just took me for a little drive - he was at the wheel - nearby here, and I can confirm that he's in excellent form". The Russian TV news channel Rossiya 24 also showed some brief footage of Mr Putin at the meeting, without sound. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov - quoted in a Russian journalist's tweet - said St Petersburg was chosen as a convenient venue for Mr Atambayev, whose daughter is studying there. Mr Peskov was also quoted as saying the "little drive"...