Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that the range of Iran's missiles will never be on the negotiating table, and will not be part of any future agreement. He argued that without its missiles, Iran would have been destroyed by Israel and the U.S. 'like Gaza,' according to Iranian media.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian escalated Tehran's already uncompromising line on Wednesday, declaring that the range of Iran's missiles will never be negotiated in any deal and warning that without its missile capability Israel and the United States would have destroyed Iran 'like Gaza.' The statement, reported by Iranian media, comes just hours after Pezeshkian had on Tuesday evening already ruled out any future talks on ballistic missiles (The Zioneer, Tue 19:39 Jerusalem). In that earlier appearance he said no future talks on the missiles would be held, and specifically denied the program had ever been part of any memorandum of understanding. Wednesday's remarks add a new rhetorical edge by invoking Gaza as a cautionary example.
The thread of Iranian denials has thickened over the past week. As The Zioneer reported on June 18, the Iranian Foreign Ministry declared 'our missiles are for launching, not negotiations,' and on June 23, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei reiterated that missile and defense capabilities will not be part of any negotiation track (The Zioneer, Tue 11:20 Jerusalem). The first version of Pezeshkian's own statement emerged Tuesday at 19:39 Jerusalem, initially reported by Hebrew-language Telegram channels, then confirmed by i24NEWS, and subsequently expanded with the explicit rejection of any future talks. The progression has moved from a general refusal to negotiate defensive capabilities to a specific denial of missile-range discussions, and now to a stark existential framing.
As The Zioneer has reported since June 12, Tehran's publicly stated position has consistently been that its ballistic missile program—including long-range systems—is entirely off the table in any diplomatic framework. That position was reinforced by a June 18 report on U.S. Vice President Vance's expectation that a final deal would block long-range missiles, alongside Iran's own insistence on a right to self-defense. A June 15 analysis by former Israeli security official Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Vilan warned that emerging frameworks omit core issues including missiles.
It remains unclear whether Pezeshkian's 'like Gaza' comparison reflects a new formal talking point or a one-off rhetorical flourish. Iranian state media have not attributed the quote to a specific public appearance or press conference, and no official readout from the president's office has been published beyond the initial report. The precise audience and venue for Wednesday's remarks are unverified.
4 developments
- DevelopingIran: missile and defense capabilities off the table in any talks, spokesman says
- DevelopingIran's Pezeshkian: 'The enemy must only dream we will yield to aggression'
- DevelopingIran's president: 'We will not bow to American arrogance'
- DevelopingIran's Pezeshkian: 'We will not surrender' after overnight clashes
Source and signal
- Internal intake