Iran’s supreme leader and the man with the final say in the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has spoken out in favor of a beefed up ballistic missile program. The ayatollah made those comments on May 11, just two days before the P5+1 nations get together to discuss possible ways for the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program to continue.

The P5+1 nations want to include Iran’s ballistic missile program in future negotiations to end Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. The P5+1 nations see the ballistic missile program as being intricately linked to the threat of Iran having nuclear weapon capabilities. Tehran continues to assure the West that the program is merely a part of its conventional army and therefore isn’t up for negotiation.

The ayatollah put it bluntly, announcing his personal views—and no doubt the views of Iranian hardliners—on the missile program. “So this is a stupid, idiotic expectation,” Khamenei said about including ballistic missiles in the nuclear negotiations. “The revolutionary guards should definitely carry out their program and not be satisfied with the present level,” he continued. “They should mass produce. This is a main duty of all military officials.”

If Iran’s revolutionary guards needed the green light to forge ahead with the county’s ballistic program, nothing beats an official nod from their supreme religious and political leader. Iran already has one of the largest missile programs in the Middle East. If the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (irgc) responds to the call from Khamenei, the threat of Iran advancing its nuclear capabilities will grow alongside the missile program.

Justifying his announcement, Khamenei said, “They [the West] expect us to limit our missile program while they constantly threaten Iran with military action.” Of course, a military option from the U.S. seems unlikely to be seriously considered as long as there is a possibility for negotiations to continue.

So why would Khamenei raise a topic such as the ballistic program only two days before already-strained talks were set to continue?

Khamenei is backing what he sees as the winning horse. The irgc is opposed to talks with the P5+1 powers, and according to think tank Debka, “The closer the negotiations come to a deal, the nearer Tehran approaches a military coup that would oust President Rouhani and reduce the supreme leader to a figurehead.” Rather than risk upsetting the incredibly powerful irgc, Khamenei may be taking steps to show he favors a stronger Iranian military over negotiations with the West—even if it means sanctions remain in place.

The other reason Khamenei doesn’t mind jeopardizing the peace process is because he doesn’t want to see it finalized, despite the fact that he has repeatedly claimed to support the negotiations. Why? As long as talks continue and Iran receives sanctions relief in return for promises and meaningless concessions that don’t involve dismantling infrastructure, Iran benefits.

For decades Khamenei has spouted anti-Western sentiment. It is only recently that he has had to learn the art of walking the line between appeasing the West—that is, letting Rouhani do the talking—and persuading the hard line that he hasn’t given up on hastening the coming of the 12th imam. The Islamic world believes this “savior” will come to save his people and bring judgment on the world. More than simply praying for his arrival five times a day, some believe that bringing violence and destruction—primarily to Israel and the West—will hasten that return.

Keep watching Iran as it works hurriedly to remove sanctions with one hand, while the other builds up a weapons program designed to carry nuclear payloads.