Friday prayers in Iran denounce nukes

TEHRAN, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A sermon Friday in Iran by Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani reiterated Islamic doctrine forbidding nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

"Islam bans shedding blood of nations; on the same ground, production of nuclear bomb and even thinking on its production are forbidden from Islamic point of view," the official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Kashani as saying during Friday prayers at Tehran University's campus.

He stated his sentiments echoed Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's successor, who said Islam bans the production and use of weapons of mass destruction.

"The world of arrogance, however, is accusing Iran under vain pretexts that is after production of nuclear weapons," Kashani said.