Khamenei: Iran nuke program to continue

TEHRAN, June 3 (UPI) -- Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei insisted in a speech Tuesday the country's nuclear program is peaceful and it would continue despite opposition.

The speech, given to mark the 19th anniversary of the death of Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, came only a day after the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency delivered a report saying Iran's nuclear program was of "serious concern" to the world because of its lack of transparency and continued uranium enrichment in the face of U.N. sanctions.

Khemenei's speech also contained criticism of the U.S. administration, with the Iranian leader saying President George Bush and his advisers act like "the mentally ill" on the Iran nuclear issue, CNN reported.

"Sometimes they threaten, sometimes they order assassinations... and sometimes they ask for help -- it's like mad people staggering to and fro," the network reported Khamenei as saying.

Khamenei said that "no wise nation would be interested in making a nuclear weapon today" but vowed to continue the program until it achieved its aim of producing nuclear energy, CNN said.