Iran has reaffirmed its refusal to negotiate on its missile programme, which it sees as a major sticking point in nuclear talks with the United States. Despite US President Donald Trump’s threat to bomb Iran if no deal is reached, Iranian officials believe their position on missiles will remain unchanged.
The US and Iran agreed last week to begin drafting a framework for resolving the long-standing dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the two sides have different views on how much Tehran should give up on its enrichment of uranium and missile capabilities.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week that Iran would need to stop enriching uranium entirely and import any enriched uranium it needs for its lone atomic energy plant. Iranian officials see this as a “new media position” that will not help progress the talks, saying instead that the only remaining point of disagreement is the missile issue.
Iran has consistently stated that it will not make further concessions on its missile programme beyond those agreed in 2015, citing its defensive capabilities as “not up for negotiation”. Western countries fear Iran’s uranium enrichment programme could yield material for an atomic warhead and that Tehran seeks to develop a ballistic missile to carry one.
Saturday’s talks will be held between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Steve Witkoff, the US Middle East envoy, via an Omani official. The third round of talks, which started earlier this month in Oman, aim to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The negotiations come after Trump ripped up the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and imposed new sanctions on Tehran. The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran has accelerated its enrichment of uranium since then. European diplomats have suggested including limits on Iran’s missile programme in a comprehensive deal, but Iranian officials have rebuffed these efforts, saying it is not negotiable.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-sees-missile-programme-main-sticking-point-us-talks-2025-04-25