Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has firmly ruled out any discussion of the country’s ballistic missile capabilities in the newly resumed, Oman-mediated negotiations with the United States, stating they are not and will never be on the agenda.
“Our missiles are not and will not be a subject of negotiations,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a nationwide rally in Tehran on Wednesday (11 February) marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
He was responding to U.S.-Israeli demands to limit the range of Iran’s missiles to 500 kilometres so that they could not reach Israel.
Official media quoted Araghchi as saying that the date and venue of the upcoming indirect meeting between Iranian and U.S. negotiators “have not yet been determined”.
Last Friday, Iran and the U.S. resumed a new round of nuclear talks mediated by Oman, during which Iran stressed that only the nuclear programme was discussed.
Addressing demonstrators at the rally in Tehran, President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons and rejected what he described as “excessive” U.S. demands.
“Iran will not give in to excessive U.S. demands” in the resumed mediated nuclear talks, he said, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the U.S. with Iran on the agenda of his meetings.
“Distrust of the West and the U.S. hinders progress in the talks,” Pezeshkian said, adding that the date and venue of the next round remain under consultation.
Tehran has categorically rejected what it calls Washington’s “zero enrichment” condition and demands to drastically limit the range of its ballistic missiles as a “red line” in any potential deal.
The U.S. will impose "never seen before" measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, Washington's Treasury Secreta...
President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. Navy to abandon its next planned electromagnetic aircraft launch sy...
A diplomatic dispute has erupted between Cuba and the Dominican Republic after Santo Domingo ordered the withdr...
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
The suspension of two major grain terminals in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk could increase pressure on Kazakhstan’s agricultural market if Russian exporters divert supplies to Central Asia at discounted prices.
Georgia’s Prime Minister says the EU’s inclusion of a major Black Sea cable project on a key infrastructure list is fresh evidence of the country’s importance to regional energy and digital connectivity.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has dismissed Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and appointed former parliament speaker Alen Simonyan as his replacement.
Central Asia’s economy has surpassed $543 billion, driven by Kazakhstan’s economic weight, strong exports and foreign investment, while growing trade across Asia points to an increasingly connected region.
The United Nations refugee agency is planning a settlement and carpet-weaving workshop for Afghan returnees in Kabul as the country grapples with large-scale returns and growing pressure on housing, jobs and basic services.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment