Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iranian nuclear weapons is a "myth" created by the US. Photo: www.sajed.ir via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Just weeks after Iran and the P5+1 powers (a group that includes the U.S.) reached a framework nuclear agreement, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that America is responsible for creating the “myth” of Iran’s nuclear weapons in order to portray the country as a threat.

“They created the myth of nuclear weapons so they could say the Islamic Republic is a source of threat,” Khamenei said in a televised address to Iranian military commanders, Reuters reported.

“No, the source of threat is America itself, with its unrestrained, destabilizing interventions. The other side is methodically and shamelessly threatening us militarily. … Even if they did not make these overt threats, we would have to be prepared,” he added.

Earlier this month, after the framework was announced, Khamenei demanded that all current sanctions against Iran be lifted immediately as part of a final nuclear deal. The US, however, has said it will insist on a gradual lifting of sanctions based on Iran meeting the benchmarks of an agreement. The deadline for Iran and world powers to reach a final deal is June 30.