Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei
He told a meeting in Tehran with the director and officials of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) and nuclear scientists that Iran would prove to the entire world that nuclear weapons could not consolidate power, Press TV reports.
The supreme leader's comments came a day after an inspection team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) left Iran after failing to gain access to a key military site at Parchin, south of Tehran.
Ayatollah Khamenei also emphasized that scientific and nuclear achievements were directly linked to the country’s national interests and its future success.
If nations manage to independently achieve progress in the fields of nuclear energy, aerospace, science and technology, there will be no room left for the tyrannical hegemony of global powers, the leader said.
He further noted that "arrogant powers", as Iran routinely describes Western governments, regularly engaged in spreading propaganda and publicity with the ultimate objective of impeding Iran's scientific advancement.
“There is no doubt,” the leader said, “that decision-making establishments in countries that stand against us are quite aware that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons since the Islamic Republic of Iran regards the possession of nuclear weapons as a great sin, in terms of thought, theory and religious edict, and also believes that holding such weapons is useless, costly and dangerous.”
Iran insists it is purely for peaceful purposes, but the West suspects the program has military implications.
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