Khamenei claims US could not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons

The United States could not stop Iran from creating nuclear weapons if Tehran truly desired to do so, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

The announcement came after Iran received a message from U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They say regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons, ‘We will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.’ Even if we wanted to develop nuclear weapons, the U.S. would not be able to stop us. The fact that we do not possess nuclear weapons and are not seeking to acquire them is because we do not want them for various reasons,” Khamenei was quoted by the Iranian Tasnim news agency.