Iran’s foreign ministry has dismissed U.S. claims about its missile programme as “big lies,” after President Donald Trump said Tehran was developing missiles that can strike the United States.
“Whatever they’re alleging in regards to Iran’s nuclear programme, Iran’s ballistic missiles, and the number of casualties during January’s unrest, is simply the repetition of big lies,” ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on X.
Baqaei did not specify exactly which claims he was responding to, but hours earlier Trump had said Iran was seeking missiles that could reach American soil. Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran lacked the capability to target the U.S. but would attack American bases in the Middle East if Washington launched a strike.
During his State of the Union speech, Trump also reiterated that Iran would never be allowed to build a nuclear weapon, saying Tehran’s leaders were “at this moment again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions”. Iran has repeatedly denied it is seeking a nuclear weapon but insists it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Trump’s claims come after Washington and Tehran concluded two rounds of Oman-mediated talks aimed at reaching a deal on the nuclear programme, with the third round set for Thursday, February 26th.
