Links
Khamenei says Iran rejects nuclear weapons
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday denied the West's charge that Tehran aims to develop nuclear weapons under a covert program, insisting the Islamic republic bans such activity.
"They falsely accuse the Islamic republic of producing nuclear weapons. We fundamentally reject nuclear weapons and prohibit the production and the use of nuclear weapons," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast by state television.
"They know themselves that it's not true ... but it is part of Iran-phobia policy that controls the behavior of these arrogant governments today."
The comments came ahead of a meeting in two weeks between Iran and six world powers which have demanded Tehran halt its program of uranium enrichment -- a process which can be used to make material for an atomic bomb.
Iran has so far defied the demand, insisting its program is for peaceful nuclear energy. It denies accusations by the United States, European powers and Israel that it is covertly seeking to build a nuclear weapon.