TEHRAN, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Iran should grow powerful militarily, and in the meantime, he is against the possession and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
"We consider restrictions on the expansion of our defense industry," Khamenei said, according to the supreme leader's website. "The WMDs, such as chemical weapons and nuclear weapons, are forbidden based on our religious beliefs."
Iran had been under the sanction pressures of the West over its nuclear program for years. The western countries suspected of weapon grade dimensions of Iran's nuclear activities; however, the Islamic republic said it was against the WMDs and its nuclear program was for civilian purposes.
The Iranian leader stressed the increase in Iran's "defensive and aggressive" power as an "inalienable right of the country" in the face of threats and insecurity in the world.
"Iran will be secure when the powers feel the might of the country," he was quoted as saying.
Khamenei disapproved of what he called the "anger" of the western countries over Iran's purchase of some defensive weapons, and said that they are talking of "moral goodness" for possessing advanced weapons, while "they themselves are not committed to any moral codes."
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