Leader says Iran will never seek atom bomb

Leader of the Islamic Ummah and Opressed People Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Friday that the country neither believes in atomic bombs nor is it seeking to develop such weapons.

The Leader said the continuation of allegations by the West that the country is pursuing military objectives in its civilian nuclear program signals that the propaganda campaign against Iran has failed.

Iran has announced many times, he said, that its fundamentals and religious principles consider weapons of mass destruction as “illegal and haraam” — meaning forbidden and prohibited according to Islamic rules.

The West accuses Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of seeking a nuclear weapon. Tehran, however, rejects the allegation and says its program is aimed at the civilian applications of the technology.

Iran in no way believes in an atomic bomb, and it does not seek one, Imam Ali Khamenei said.

The Leader made the remarks during the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s first domestically-built destroyer.