TEHRAN, Feb. 11 — Iran’s missile capability is a red line and a non-negotiable issue, Ali Shamkhani, senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said Wednesday.
According to a report by Iran’s Nour News, Shamkhani said any military attack, even limited, will be considered the start of a war, the consequence of which will “reach a scope beyond the military dimension” and “affect the lives of people in different parts of the world.”
Making the remarks at the celebrations in the Iranian capital Tehran to mark the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Shamkhani said the logical path for Washington is to seriously pursue the path of dialogue instead of threats.
Last week, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that Shamkhani had been appointed as Secretary of the country’s Defense Council, which was established in August 2025 to review Iran’s defense plans and the improvement of the Iranian armed forces’ capabilities in a centralized manner.
Meanwhile, another report by Nour News published Wednesday, citing Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, said that Iran is willing to discuss the level of its uranium enrichment and the amount of its stockpile, only if its rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are truly respected.
Separately, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told state-run Al-Alam news channel on Wednesday that consultations are underway to determine the date of the next round of indirect nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.
Larijani said the U.S. side appears willing to move the negotiations towards a solution, but it is not possible yet to make a complete judgment, adding that the date of the next round will be announced following the consultations.
Larijani led a delegation to visit mediator Oman on Tuesday, the same day when he warned that the United States should not let Israel, “through posturing,” dictate the framework of nuclear negotiations.
Also on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told Russia Today that he believes Iran and the United States can strike a nuclear deal better than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed in July 2015.
“I have been in the nuclear negotiations business in the past 20 years. I know that it is achievable,” he said.
The Iranian side is working on a “doable plan or proposal” capable of guaranteeing that there will be no nuclear weapons while safeguarding Iran’s rights to peaceful use of nuclear technology, he noted.
Given past diplomatic engagement between Tehran and Washington, Iran still has no full trust in the United States, Araghchi said, noting that Iran needs to make sure the same scenario will not be repeated.
He reiterated that Iran will not negotiate on its missile program or regional alliances, adding, “We only negotiate about our nuclear program with the United States.” (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
