Ayatollah Rails Against Nuclear Accusations

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Western accusations that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons were a “sheer lie,” and he declared that attempts to punish Tehran would jeopardize the world’s oil supply.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed the implied threat, saying Iran was too dependent on oil revenue to disrupt the flow of crude. She also put Iran on notice that the incentives offered by the West to encourage Tehran to suspend its nuclear program would not be available indefinitely, although she declined to say Iran had a firm deadline to respond.