The Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has denied Western claims that Iran intends to develop nuclear arms. His comments come days after the US said it was modifying its plans for defenses against Iranian missiles and shelving a long-range missile shield. In a speech broadcast on state television, Khamenei said the US knew it was wrong when it asserted that Tehran was pursuing a covert nuclear bomb. The comments were seen as the first official response to the US decision to scrap a European missile initiative put forward by the former Bush administration to counter any long-range Iranian missile threat. <br/>