Iran's Khamenei claims hegemony

TEHRAN, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised God Wednesday for the ability of the Islamic Republic to emerge as a regional power.

Khamenei told Iranian naval commander Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari that Iran had learned from past experience to gain enough strength to gain regional hegemony, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said.

The spiritual leader praised the revolutionary beginnings of the armed forces in Iran and said, despite stiff economic sanctions imposed over its controversial nuclear program, the program has emerged as one of the most pre-eminent forces, especially in the naval arena.

Meanwhile, the head of the Iranian atomic energy organization, Reza Aqazadeh, said there are several thousand nuclear centrifuges in operation in the country.

"At present, we have more than 5,000 centrifuges operating," he said.