Bolivian President Evo Morales offered a testy retort Monday to visiting US defense chief Robert Gates's warning about any nuclear dealings with Iran, saying Bolivia will ally with whomever it wants. 'Nobody will stop me' from negotiating with any country, Morales said at the opening of a biannual conference of regional defense ministers attended by Gates. 'Bolivia, under my leadership, will have agreements and alliances with everyone,' the leftist leader added. 'We have the right, and we have a culture of dialogue.' Morales, who has signed several political and economic deals with Tehran and has tense relations with Washington, announced late last month that Bolivia has plans to build a nuclear plant with Iran's help, stressing the facility would be for peaceful purposes. On Sunday upon his arrival in Bolivia, Gates cautioned against the motives of Tehran, which the international community suspects is seeking to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear program, despite Iranian denials. 'I'm not sure the Iranians have an independent capability to help somebody build a civil nuclear capability. Their own capability has been under contract with the Russians' for 20 years, Gates said. 'I don't really know what the Iranians are up to, to really tell you the truth,' he said. Morales has visited Iran twice in as many years, while Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad travelled to Bolivia in 2007 for the first visit by an Iranian president. Under Ahmadinejad, the Islamic republic has strengthened diplomatic ties with Latin America, and with Bolivia, Brazil, Nicaragua and Venezuela in particular. Gates was due later Monday to address the conference, which is expected to address defense budgeting, disaster response and transparency in arms sales. 