Khamenei: U.S. Created 'Myth' of Nuclear
Weapons to Make Iran Appear as Threat
By The Associated Press
April 19, 2015 "ICH"
- "AP"
-
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the concept of Iranian nuclear
weapons was a fabrication and the United States was the real source of threat,
hardening his rhetoric before nuclear negotiations resume this week.
"They created the myth of nuclear weapons so they could say the Islamic
Republic is a source of threat. No, the source of threat is America itself,"
Khamenei said in comments cited by the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday.
"The other side is methodically and shamelessly threatening us militarily ...
even if they did not make these overt threats, we would have to be prepared," he
said in an address to military commanders.
Also Sunday, a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard said that
inspectors would be barred from the country's military sites under any nuclear
agreement with world powers.
Gen. Hossein Salami, the Guard's deputy leader, said on state TV that
allowing the foreign inspection of military sites is tantamount to "selling
out."
"We will respond with hot lead (bullets) to those who speak of it," Salami
said. "Iran will not become a paradise for spies. We will not roll out the red
carpet for the enemy."
Iran and six world powers - the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, China and
Russia - have reached a framework agreement to curb Tehran's nuclear program in
return for lifting sanctions, and hope to strike a final deal by June 30.
A fact sheet on the
framework accord issued by the State
Department said Iran would be required to
grant the UN nuclear agency access to any
"suspicious sites." Iran has questioned that
and other language in the fact sheet,
notably that sanctions would only be lifted
after the International Atomic Energy Agency
has verified Tehran's compliance. Iran's
leaders have said the sanctions should be
lifted on the first day of the
implementation of the accord.
The fact sheet said Iran
has agreed to implement the Additional
Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty,
which would grant the IAEA expanded access
to both declared and undeclared nuclear
facilities.
But Salami said allowing
foreign inspectors to visit a military base
would amount to "occupation," and expose
"military and defense secrets."
"It means humiliating a
nation," Salami said on state TV. "They will
not even be permitted to inspect the most
normal military site in their dreams."
See also -
Bombing Iran opens up
pandora’s box: Senator Graham:
“You’ve got to assume the worst, not the
best. They could attack our bases in the
region. They could cause disruption in the
Gulf of Hormuz [sic — the Strait of Hormuz
connects the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman].
It would be a messy affair,” he added.
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