Iran rejects missile negotiations amid talks with US

After talks took place on February 6th in Oman’s capital, Muscat, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on February 7th that Iran’s missile programme was “never negotiable,” as reported by Middle East Eye via Haaretz.

Araghchi met U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during the talks. “Missiles are never negotiable because they are a defence issue,” he said.

Despite both sides exchanging threats, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the two parties had agreed to limit talks to Iran’s nuclear programme, dropping the U.S. demand that the talks should also cover Iran’s ballistic missiles. However, the conditions imposed by Donald Trump were clear: zero uranium enrichment in Iran, limits on Tehran’s ballistic missile programme, and an end to its support for regional allies.

The talks have taken place in a climate of high tension and have coincided with a new package of sanctions imposed by Washington. The United States announced sanctions against 14 vessels flying the flags of countries such as Turkey, India and the United Arab Emirates, as well as sanctions targeting 15 entities and two individuals. The measures aim to restrict Iran’s oil exports.

While no diplomatic de-escalation appears to be in sight, the same applies to the U.S. military posture, with American aircraft carriers remaining stationed off Iran’s coast. The U.S. Central Command released footage showing the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln conducting a refuelling operation in the Arabian Sea. Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, Iran’s army spokesperson, stated on February 5th that the military was prepared for war, which would “encompass the entire region and all US bases” if that is what the US wanted. Meanwhile, on February 6th, the United States urged its citizens to “leave Iran now.”

Adding further fuel to the fire, Iran’s internal situation remains tense, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a parliamentary committee that “there is a build-up of conditions toward a critical mass that could bring about the downfall of the Iranian regime.”

Middle East Eye via Haaretz, Maghrebi.org