Iran defiant after inspectors leave

TEHRAN, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The Islamic Republic of Iran has never, nor will it ever, seek to develop a nuclear weapon, the country's ruling ayatollah proclaimed Wednesday.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said if Iran were allowed to make independent progress on nuclear energy, aerospace and science, there wouldn't be room left for the "tyrannical dominance of world powers," Iran's state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.

A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency returned Wednesday from Iran. The agency said it wasn't given access to the Parchin testing facility nor was it able to clarify unresolved issues related to possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program.

"It is disappointing that Iran did not accept our request to visit Parchin during the first or second meetings," said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a statement. "We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached."

Iran is accused of working on the technology needed to produce a nuclear weapon, though Tehran maintains the program is for peaceful purposes.

"There is no doubt that the decision makers in the countries opposing us know well that Iran is not after nuclear weapons because the Islamic Republic, logically, religiously and theoretically, considers the possession of nuclear weapons a grave sin and believes the proliferation of such weapons is senseless, destructive and dangerous," said Khamenei.