Iran has drawn a new red line in talks with the United States, saying its ballistic missile program is not part of the interim deal framework and will never be negotiated.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made the statement Tuesday during a joint news conference in Islamabad with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to a Reuters report carried by the Jerusalem Post. Pezeshkian said Iran’s missiles “were not in the Memorandum of Understanding” signed with the United States and “will never be,” while adding that Tehran would not negotiate what it considers its defense capability.
The statement gives the Iran crisis a fresh and potentially difficult turn. Recent U.S.-Iran talks have focused on turning a temporary war-ending arrangement into a broader settlement, but the two sides are already clashing over what the framework actually covers. Until now, much of the public dispute has centered on nuclear inspections, unfrozen Iranian assets, and control of the Strait of Hormuz. Pezeshkian’s remarks put Iran’s missile arsenal back at the center of the political fight.
Pakistan backs Iran’s position
Sharif also said the missile issue was not part of the talks. Middle East Eye reported that the Pakistani prime minister described Iran’s ballistic missiles as “never on the table” and “never on the agenda” during the U.S.-Iran process. Pakistan and Qatar have been involved as mediators as Washington and Tehran try to convert the current pause into a more durable agreement.
That matters because Iran’s missile program has long been one of Washington’s core concerns. It was also part of the broader justification used by the United States and Israel during the war with Iran. If Tehran refuses to even discuss missiles, any final deal would likely be narrower than some U.S. lawmakers and regional allies have demanded.
Pezeshkian framed the issue as a matter of survival. Middle East Eye quoted him as saying Iran would “never compromise” on its missile capabilities. Sharif, meanwhile, argued that there should not be one standard for countries that already possess ballistic missiles and another standard for Iran.
Talks already strained by inspection dispute
The missile comments come as U.S. and Iranian officials are already offering conflicting accounts of the interim arrangement. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Washington and Tehran remain at odds over whether Iran has agreed to allow U.N. inspectors into nuclear sites bombed by the United States.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said inspectors were not scheduled to examine the bombed sites, while President Donald Trump claimed Iran had agreed to long-term inspections and warned there would be no further negotiations without them. The International Atomic Energy Agency has not publicly confirmed a new inspection schedule for those sites.
Technical teams are still working on the framework after talks in Switzerland. Iranian officials have said the process includes groups focused on sanctions relief, nuclear issues, reconstruction, and monitoring. The AP also reported that negotiators created a deconfliction mechanism tied to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and fighting in Lebanon.
Why this is a new angle
The latest statement does not collapse the talks, but it narrows the field. A deal that leaves Iran’s missiles untouched could still address sanctions, shipping lanes, nuclear monitoring, and regional de-escalation. But it would not satisfy critics who want a settlement to restrict Tehran’s long-range strike capability.
That makes Pezeshkian’s Islamabad remarks more than routine posturing. They define what Iran says is outside the deal before the technical phase is complete. For Washington, that creates a choice: pursue a limited agreement that stabilizes the immediate crisis, or keep pushing for weapons limits that Tehran says are not negotiable.
The talks remain active, but the list of unresolved disputes is growing. Nuclear inspections, unfrozen assets, Hormuz access, Lebanon, and now missiles are all being contested in public. That is a fragile foundation for a final agreement, especially with the 60-day window already underway.
Featured image: Iranian ballistic missile launcher displayed during a 2023 Sacred Defence Week parade in Bandar Abbas. Rahbar Emamdadi/Fars Media Corporation via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.