Iran’s supreme leader dismisses 'nonsense' nuke allegations
Iran’s supreme leader said there was no military side to his country’s nuclear program and stressed Iran's need for nuclear energy.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed as “nonsense” Western allegations that Tehran is on the cusp of building atomic weapons.
“We are not after nuclear arms and they know it,” Khamenei declared in a Feb. 22 televised speech. The statement was an indirect reference to his own 2003 decree that banned the production of nuclear weapons.
His words have not soothed Western worries, especially in recent months as Iran has been ramping up its uranium enrichment to as high as 60%. The step is considered a breach of the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The United States and its European allies allege that Tehran is well on its way to producing its first nuclear weapons. To block the path, they have sought to resurrect the JCPOA through engaging in multiple rounds of intense diplomacy in the Austrian capital, Vienna.
