Iran’s Khamenei: West wouldn’t be able to stop us getting nuclear weapon if we wanted one

Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that the West would not be able to stop Iran from attaining nuclear weapons if it were to pursue such a goal, but said the possibility of returning to a nuclear deal is not off the table.

“There is nothing wrong with the agreement [with the West], but the infrastructure of our nuclear industry should not be touched,” Khamenei says, according to state media cited by Reuters.

The Iranian supreme leader says claims “about Tehran’s nuclear weapons is a lie and they [the West] know it. We do not want nuclear arms based on our religious beliefs. Otherwise they would not have been able to stop it.”

Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, while Israel has repeatedly displayed evidence that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons.