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.
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.
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.
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.
Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took t...
Saudi Arabia has restored its vital East-West oil pipeline to near-full capacity, but escalating Houthi attacks on energy facilities, airports and ...
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 9 October 2026 with five key developments from the CIS summit in Turkmenistan....
Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took the decision at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday, media reported.
The Saudi-led coalition says it has carried out a series of military operations against Houthi targets in Yemen after attacks on two Saudi airports left three people dead and dozens injured.
Azerbaijan and the five Central Asian states have signed two key documents at the 8th Consultative Meeting of Heads of State in Turkmenbashi, formalising a broader framework for regional cooperation in transport, trade, energy, digitalisation and security.
It started with classrooms. Too many students, not enough teachers, deteriorating buildings and growing anxiety over what comes after high school. But within weeks, a movement that began outside French lycées had spread across the country.
Britain and Israel have reached a temporary compromise over the future of the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem, easing a diplomatic dispute that had threatened to further strain relations between the two countries.
South African judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday “for her efforts to promote peace and international law,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
The Pentagon says it will livestream the execution of former U.S. Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, who was sentenced to death for killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. It would be the first publicly livestreamed execution in U.S. history.
U.S. federal immigration agents shot and wounded a man in a car with a five-year-old boy inside in New York City’s Bronx neighbourhood on Thursday, city officials, police and witnesses say.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sharply criticised the United States following a series of Russian attacks that killed more than 70 people over two days, arguing that Washington is not doing enough to help Kyiv counter Moscow's continued assault.
Britain and Israel have reached a temporary compromise over the future of the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem, easing a diplomatic dispute that had threatened to further strain relations between the two countries.
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