Iran's missile program non-negotiable: Iranian FM

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that the country's missile program was "never negotiable" in talks with the United States.

Araghchi made the remarks in an interview with Qatar's Al Jazeera, excerpts of which were shared in Persian on his Telegram channel Saturday.

Commenting on indirect negotiations on Friday between Iran and the U.S. that focused solely on Iran's nuclear program, Araghchi said they were a good "start," but there is a long way ahead to build trust.

Washington has, over the past months, been calling on Iran to curb its missile program, a demand Tehran has firmly rejected.

"Missile is never negotiable as it is a defense issue," Araghchi said. "We hope to see this approach in U.S. policy."

The United States and Israel failed to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities even through bombing the country's atomic facilities last June, he said, asserting Iran's "inalienable" right to continue uranium enrichment on its own soil.

Regarding a potential U.S. attack, Araghchi said it would not be possible for Iran to attack U.S. soil, but it could target American bases in West Asia.

Friday's negotiations between the U.S. and Iranian delegations, headed by the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Araghchi, marked a renewed diplomatic effort amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington in view of the latter's military buildup in the region.

Read more:

Iran, U.S. to continue talks after 'very good' Oman discussions

Timeline: Escalating U.S.-Iran tensions since 2015