TEHRAN – In a series of remarks on Tuesday, multiple Iranian officials delivered a firm and unified message to the United States: Iran is open to dialogue on its nuclear program, but will not negotiate its core security interests under threat. 

Following a difficult decade marked by Washington's abandonment of the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), years of fruitless attempts to revive it, and a U.S.-Israeli war imposed on Iran this past June that resulted in the bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities, the Tuesday statements from President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures suggest a hardened stance.

Speaking just before his departure for New York where he is set to address the UN General Assembly, President Pezeshkian set the principle that any talks must be based on mutual respect. “We cannot talk with someone who wants to use force and bully,” he stated. He described the issue as a matter of universal justice, arguing that security cannot be a privilege for only one party. “It is not the case that only Israel has the right to be secure. The security of everyone living in this world must be preserved,” Pezeshkian said.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani was asked to elaborate on this point during a press conference. She emphasized that Tehran distinguishes between a true negotiation and an ultimatum. “We welcome any opportunity for dialogue to resolve issues for our people,” she told reporters. “However, dialogue is naturally a two-way action; it is not about dictating one’s opinions to another. That is not dialogue.” She expressed deep frustration with European powers, accusing them of failing to uphold their commitments after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, which led to “heavy pressure on Iran’s economy.”

On the specific issue of Iran’s missile program—a demand Washington has been putting forth in during nuclear talks—the officials were unequivocal. Mohajerani called the missiles an integral part of national defense, a lesson seared into the national consciousness during the eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s. “We do not ask for anyone’s permission to defend our people,” she said, pointing to the recent conflict as proof of their necessity. “Everyone witnessed how our national solidarity and missile power defended our people.”

Iran managed to force Israel and the United States to ask for a ceasefire 12 days after they initiated war on June 13. Iranian missiles dealt significant costs to the Israelis and Americans, as they decimated swathes of Israeli cities and also hit an American military base in Qatar. 

Mohajerani’s stance on missiles was echoed and amplified in parliament, where lawmaker Seyed Jalil Mirmohammadi revealed that more than 70 representatives are pushing for a fundamental shift in Iran’s nuclear doctrine. He argued that in a world where a “criminal America” allows a “Zionist regime to run wild,” Iran must consider all preventative tools, “one of which is nuclear weapons.” He invoked the fate of Libya, which dismantled its weapons of mass destruction programs, as a cautionary tale. “Iran will by no means become Libya,” he vowed, dismissing the idea that concessions would end hostilities.

The skepticism toward American demands was perhaps best captured by Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. “The Americans say the range of Iran’s missiles must be under 500 kilometers,” the seasoned statesman said. “Do they really think that this will ever be acceptable for an Iranian?”