Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 16 July denounced the United States as an “accomplice” to Israel’s crimes and branded Israel a “cancerous tumor” and “dog on a leash” in remarks to senior judiciary officials in Tehran, according to Iranian state-run media. Khamenei said Israel was forced to “cling to the United States” for a cease-fire after a 12-day confrontation that began on 13 June, asserting the episode proved Iran’s military strength and national unity. He warned that any future attack on the Islamic Republic would draw a decisive response. PressTV reported that the June fighting included Israeli assassinations of Iranian commanders and scientists and U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites. Iran retaliated by targeting sites inside Israel and the U.S. al-Udeid air base in Qatar before a cease-fire took effect on 24 June. The supreme leader urged Iran’s judiciary to pursue legal action against the United States and Israel in domestic and international courts, insisting that the “criminals must be held accountable,” even if the process takes years.