Iran is doing exactly what any other sovereign nation would do if conducting a domestic nuclear power program to generate electricity and being told that they cannot enrich unranium because they might use it to build nuclear weapons. Building nuclear weapons is NOT the only reason for enriching uranium.

Iran is being asked to prove that it doesn't have nukes and doesn't intend to build any. You cannot prove a negative.

In the same way, Saddam was asked to prove he didn't have WMDs. He could not prove a negative either. He was like a fish in a barrel...nothing he could do would have stopped the US attack in 2003.

The USA normally does this when they want an excuse to attack someone...they ask their next target to prove a negative...which can't be done. It's the perfect catch-22. The target can struggle all they want, but they can't prove that they don't have something which the USA says they do, and they can't prove that they don't have intentions which the USA says they do.

"• Leader also warns Iran will retaliate if attacked"

Gosh! How awful of them!!! ;-) Look, who the hell does NOT retaliate if attacked? Who does not warn he will retaliate if attacked?

Iran has something the USA wants, but is not cooperating with American corporate planning, and non-cooperation is simply not accepted by the Superpower any more than it is by a local Mafia boss. Therefore Iran is now a target, and has been ever since 1979. The present propaganda campaign by America and Israel is geared to make people think that Iran is so dangerous, so scary, that they must be attacked without delay (same tired old propaganda technique that was used to attack Iraq in 2003). Therefore, they are asked to prove a negative....that they DON'T have nukes or plans to build nukes. You cannot prove a negative. If you don't have such things or any plans for them...and if you say so...the USA can just accuse you of lying, after all. And that's what happens. It is justification of war not on the basis of any actual provocation, but on the basis of innuendo.

It becomes more and more likely under such outside pressure that Iran will eventually decide it must acquire nuclear weapons simply as a matter of self-defence. If so, the USA accusation will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, the ayatollahs have always opposed the idea of developing nuclear weapons, considering such weapons to be "un-Islamic".

I wouldn't want to bet either way on how this one will turn out...

Is it possible that Iran wants to build nukes and is enriching uranium for that purpose? Yes. Is it proven? No. Is the burden of proof on the accusers? Yes. Even if it were proven, would that then be justification for a pre-emptive attack on Iran? Hell, no! No one has the right to pre-emptively attack another country just because that country has or is building some kind of weapon.