U.S. says Iran’s refusal to discuss its ballistic missile programme is ‘a big problem’

The U.S. has warned that Iran’s refusal to address its ballistic missile programme complicates efforts to secure progress at a new round of indirect nuclear negotiations in Geneva.

Speaking to reporters on St. Kitts in the Caribbean,U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tehran’s position raises serious concerns beyond the nuclear file.

“It’s also important to remember that Iran refuses to talk about the ballistic missiles to us or to anyone, and that’s a big problem,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to St. Kitts.

He said Iran holds “thousands of short-range ballistic missiles” capable of threatening American forces and regional partners, and cited naval assets that could endanger maritime traffic and U.S. operations.

Rubio questioned Tehran’s insistence on uranium enrichment.

“They don’t need to enrich in order to have nuclear energy. They don’t need nuclear energy, by the way, they have plenty of natural gas,” he said.

Referring to enrichment facilities built deep underground, he added, “You would have to lack common sense to not know what that means.”

He stressed that the upcoming discussions would centre on nuclear matters and described them as another diplomatic opportunity.

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White House keeps pressure while backing diplomacy

Meanwhile, the White House is maintaining pressure on Tehran while keeping diplomacy on the table.

In a separate interview with Fox News, JD Vance said Washington’s priority is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability.

“Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said, adding that the administration is hopeful a negotiated solution can be reached, while retaining the option to use other measures if talks fail.

Vance also said U.S. intelligence has observed signs that Iran may be trying to restore elements of its atomic infrastructure after strikes last year that Washington says targeted key facilities.

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Tehran engages ahead of mediated talks

On the diplomatic front, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Switzerland for the third round of mediated talks, and will meet Oman's Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Albusaidi ahead of negotiations.

Iranian state media said the discussions focused on sanctions relief and technical aspects of the nuclear programme. Tehran maintains its activities are for peaceful purposes and has rejected expanding the talks to include missile systems or regional military alliances.

• Trump warns Iran to make nuclear deal in 10-15 days

The diplomatic effort comes amid increased U.S. military deployments in the Middle East and Iranian warnings that any strike would trigger retaliation against U.S. assets and strategic waterways.

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