Iran says new US policy a nuclear threat

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's supreme leader said Sunday that President Barack Obama has "implicitly threatened" his country with nuclear weapons in a newly outlined U.S. policy and Tehran said it intends to file a formal complaint with the U.N.

Obama announced a new U.S. nuclear strategy last week, including a vow not to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them. Iran and North Korea were pointedly excepted from that pledge because Washington accuses them of not cooperating with the international community on nonproliferation standards.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, said Obama's language was "disgraceful" and proof the U.S. cannot be trusted.

"The U.S. president has implicitly threatened the Iranian nation with nuclear weapons. These remarks are very strange," Khamenei said on state television. "The world should not ignore it because in the 21st century, ... the head of a state is threatening a nuclear attack. The U.S. president's remarks are disgraceful," he added. "These remarks mean the U.S. government is a villain government that can't be trusted."

The U.S. and its allies suspect Iran's nuclear program is geared toward producing weapons, though Iran denies that.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast claimed Obama's stance on Iran was a "threat to global peace and security," the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.

"We will formally hand over our complaint to the United Nations in response to these threats," Mehmanparast said.

The newly stated U.S. policy on Iran represents a warning to Tehran. But the Obama administration's new nuclear policy guidelines also aim to show Washington is serious about reducing its own arsenal and about gathering world support for stricter safeguards against nuclear proliferation — a step aimed at further isolating Iran diplomatically.