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.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday they attacked two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, calling the st...
Four people were killed, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on the Russian port city of Novorossiysk overn...
Foreign direct investment in Georgia fell sharply in the second quarter of 2026, while China surged to become the country’s largest investor,...
Four people were killed, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on the Russian port city of Novorossiysk overnight, according to the governor of the Krasnodar region. Ukraine's drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi, said Russian military ships were destroyed in the attacks.
A TV channel was struck during a live broadcast on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least three people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Meanwhile, drones hit civilian infrastructure in Russia's southwestern Saratov region.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly launched two ballistic missile attacks against a U.S. Navy warship over the past two days.
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Indonesia has reopened Jakarta's main airport and four others after volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau forced widespread flight cancellations, though fresh eruptions have kept authorities on alert.
Four people were killed, including a child, in Ukrainian strikes on the Russian port city of Novorossiysk overnight, according to the governor of the Krasnodar region. Ukraine's drone forces commander, Robert Brovdi, said Russian military ships were destroyed in the attacks.
Foreign direct investment in Georgia fell sharply in the second quarter of 2026, while China surged to become the country’s largest investor, highlighting Tbilisi’s deepening economic ties with Beijing as relations with the West remain strained.
North Korea has built a new uranium enrichment facility at its Yongbyon nuclear complex in the northwest of the country and begun operating an expanded site at Kangson, near the capital Pyongyang, the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog has said.
Israel has ordered the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem and banned 12 British nationals from entering the country, escalating a diplomatic row with London over Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 9th of September, covering the latest developments.
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