Iran denies nuclear threat and criticizes Trump speech

Iran responded this Wednesday (25) to the American “big lies”, after President Donald Trump accused Tehran of develop missiles capable of reaching the United States and pursuing “sinister nuclear ambitions.”

Before the resumption, on Thursday (26), of a new round of negotiations in Geneva with mediation from Oman, the American president stated, however, that he will give priority to diplomatic channels, while the Islamic Republic even considered that an agreement is “within reach”.

Washington has intensified threats of attack if an agreement is not reached and sent a large military device to the Gulf region, which includes aircraft carriers.

“What they are alleging about Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s ballistic missiles and the number of deaths during the January riots is simply the repetition of ‘big lies’”, Iranian diplomacy spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on the social network X, also referring to a wave of protests that culminated in a violent repression by the authorities.

On Tuesday night, Trump claimed during his State of the Union address that Tehran has already “developed missiles that can threaten Europe” and American bases abroad. Furthermore, he accused the country of working to “build missiles that will soon reach the United States”.

“Historic opportunity”

“Currently, they are moving forward with their sinister nuclear ambitions,” warned the Republican president, who is trying to reach an agreement that guarantees, in particular, that Iran does not develop atomic weapons.

“My preference is to resolve this problem through diplomacy, but one thing is certain: I will never allow the main sponsor of terrorism in the world, which is Iran by far, to have a nuclear weapon,” he reiterated before Congress.

“They want to reach an agreement, but we don’t hear the key words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,’” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbass Araghchi declared on Tuesday that the country is “determined to reach a fair and equitable agreement as quickly as possible.”

“We have a historic opportunity to reach an unprecedented agreement that addresses both parties’ concerns and mutual interests,” Araghchi wrote in an X post.

The Iranian minister stated that reaching an understanding is “within reach, but only if diplomacy is prioritized”.

Student demonstrations

Tehran denies having military nuclear ambitions, but insists on its right to the civil use of nuclear energy, based on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which it is a signatory.

Iran and the United States, which resumed dialogue on February 6 in Oman, organized five rounds of nuclear talks last year, but the meetings were interrupted by the 12-day war triggered in June by an Israeli attack, during which Washington bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.

The President of the United States also accused Iranian authorities of killing 32,000 people in repressing the unprecedented wave of protests that peaked on January 8 and 9.

Iranian authorities recognize more than 3,000 dead in the demonstrationsbut attribute the violence to “terrorist acts” orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), based in the United States, estimates that more than 7,000 people died in the repression of the protests. The NGO warned, however, that the real number is likely much higher.

University students have returned to protest in Tehran against the government since classes resumed on Saturday.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani acknowledged on Tuesday that they have “the right to demonstrate”, but warned that they should not exceed some “limits”.

Videos published on social media and verified by AFP show students burning the flag of the Islamic Republic and shouting phrases such as “Death to the dictator”, in reference to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

According to a resident of Tehran, interviewed by an AFP journalist who is outside the country, the protests are limited to large universities.

*AFP