“Iran will not negotiate on the missile program.”
Elchi.az reports that this was stated by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in an interview with Al Jazeera.
He called the talks in question a purely defensive issue.
In his interview, Araqchi noted that the recent contacts with Washington were a “good starting point”, but stressed that there is still a long way to go to build confidence.
The minister said that the talks held the day before were in an indirect format and were limited to the nuclear issue only.
“The issue of banning enrichment is not a subject of discussion for Iran. Uranium enrichment is Iran’s right and must continue,” Araqchi said.
He added that even by bombing, it was impossible to eliminate Iran’s capabilities in this area.
At the same time, Araqchi noted that Iran is ready for a reliable agreement on enrichment.
“Negotiations on missiles are not possible now or in the future, because this is a defense issue,” he said.
Araqchi also said that Iran’s nuclear dossier can only be resolved through negotiations.
He also touched upon the issue of a possible US attack: “If Iran is attacked, we will target US bases in the region.”
Araqchi said that the possibility of war always exists and that Iran is ready for this scenario.