Iran has ruled out any negotiations over its missile and defence capabilities, while signalling conditional openness to resuming nuclear talks with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday following high-level discussions in Istanbul.
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“I want to state firmly that Iran’s defensive and missile capabilities will never be subject to negotiation,” Araghchi told reporters after meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. He reiterated Tehran’s long-held position that its missile programme is strictly defensive and non-negotiable.
At the same time, Araghchi said Iran was prepared to re-engage in nuclear negotiations with Washington, provided talks were conducted “on an equal footing.” Stressing Iran’s stance that it does not seek nuclear weapons, he added that Tehran was open to dialogue if negotiations were fair and respectful.
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However, the Iranian foreign minister said no concrete plans had been made for talks with US officials. “No meeting plan has been set between us and the Americans,” he said, emphasising that preparatory work was required regarding the framework, agenda, and venue of any future discussions. Araghchi noted that the issue had been discussed with his Turkish counterpart during their meeting.
Meanwhile, diplomatic activity involving Iran also unfolded in Moscow, where Russian President Vladimir Putin met Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. The Kremlin confirmed the meeting but did not provide detailed information, saying only that discussions covered economic cooperation and key regional and international issues.
The meeting comes as US President Donald Trump renewed pressure on Tehran to reach a deal on its nuclear programme. Trump said on Friday that he believed Iran wanted to avoid military confrontation by striking an agreement, while also repeating threats of possible military action.
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Russia, a close ally of Iran and a key supporter during the war in Ukraine, has offered to mediate between Washington and Tehran, underscoring its growing diplomatic role in the standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.