Iran has declared a “historic and crushing defeat” of the United States and the Israeli regime after 40 days of war, announcing that Washington has been forced to accept a 10-point Iranian proposal that includes a permanent ceasefire, the lifting of all sanctions, and the withdrawal of US combat forces from the region.

In a statement addressed to the “noble, great, and heroic nation of Iran,” the Supreme National Security Council said the enemy had suffered an undeniable defeat and now saw “no way forward but to submit to the will of the great nation of Iran and the honorable Axis of Resistance.”

The announcement comes on Day 40 of the US-Israeli war of aggression on Iran, which began with the assassination of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and top-ranking commanders on February 28.

According to the statement, the United States has agreed to a 10-point proposal that fundamentally commits Washington to:

  • No new aggression against Iran
  • Continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz
  • Acceptance of enrichment
  • Removal of all primary sanctions
  • Removal of all secondary sanctions
  • Termination of all UN Security Council resolutions
  • Termination of all Board of Governors resolutions
  • Payment of compensation to Iran
  • Withdrawal of US combat forces from the region
  • Cessation of war on all fronts, including against the heroic Islamic Resistance of Lebanon

“Iran has achieved a great victory and has forced criminal America to accept its own 10-point proposal,” the statement read.

The statement by the top security body described the past 40 days as one of the “heaviest combined battles in history,” in which Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and occupied Palestine inflicted blows that “the historical memory of the world will never forget.”

“Iran and the Resistance have almost completely destroyed the American military machine in the region,” it stated. “They have inflicted crushing and deep blows on the vast infrastructure and capabilities that the enemy had built and deployed around the region over many years for this war against Iran.”

The statement added that within the occupied territories, Resistance forces had dealt “devastating and crushing blows to the enemy’s forces, infrastructure, facilities, and assets.”

It further stated that the United States understood as early as 10 days into the war that it could not win.

“Not only did none of the enemy’s main objectives materialize, but the enemy realized from about 10 days after the start of the war that it would have no ability to win this war,” the statement said. “For this reason, through various channels and methods, the enemy began efforts to establish contact with Iran and request a ceasefire.”

The top security body further said the enemy had initially imagined a quick military victory, believing Iran’s missile and drone capabilities would be “quickly extinguished,” and noted that the “vile global Zionism” had convinced the “ignorant President of the United States” that the war would finish Iran.

While declaring victory, the top security body also urged continued vigilance.

‘Political Disaster’, says Israel’s main opposition leader

JERUSALEM: Israel’s main opposition leader Yair Lapid sharply criticised the ceasefire with Iran on Wednesday, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to achieve the war’s objectives.

“There has never been a political disaster like this in our entire history. Israel was not even close to the table when decisions were made concerning the core of our national security,” Lapid wrote on X.

“The army carried out everything that was asked of it, and the public showed remarkable resilience, but Netanyahu failed politically, failed strategically, and did not achieve any of the goals he himself set.”

Netanyahu had set the elimination or at least severe degradation of Iran’s nuclear programme as a central goal of the war, describing it as an “existential threat” to Israel.

He also called for neutralising Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities, weakening or potentially toppling the Iranian regime, and curbing Tehran’s regional influence by targeting its network of allied groups.

“It will take us years to repair the political and strategic damage that Netanyahu caused due to arrogance, negligence, and lack of strategic planning,” Lapid said.

Netanyahu says ceasefire ‘does not include Lebanon’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has expressed support for the United States’ decision to suspend strikes on Iran, but said the two-week truce will not extend to Israel’s ongoing military operations in Lebanon.

In a statement on X on Wednesday, Netanyahu said Israel backed US President Donald Trump’s efforts to ensure “Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world”.

But the two-week ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”, he said.

Lebanon was drawn into the US and Israel’s war on Iran on March 2 after Tehran-aligned Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah said the attacks were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, on February 28, as well as Israel’s near-daily violations of a ceasefire it agreed to in Lebanon in November 2024.

That truce was agreed after more than a year of cross-border fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters following Israel’s launch of its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 1,500 people since March 2 and displaced more than 1.2 million. The Israeli military has also launched an invasion of southern Lebanon and said it aims to seize more territory for what it calls a buffer zone.