Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would have faced the same fate as Gaza if it did not possess missiles for its defense, making clear that Tehran’s ballistic missile program will not be part of negotiations under any circumstances.
Speaking during a visit to Pakistan, which is playing an important mediation role in talks between Tehran and Washington on a lasting end to the war in the Middle East, Pezeshkian said Iran’s missiles were essential for the country’s survival. He argued that without the missiles Iran has for defense, Israel and the United States would have “flattened Iran like Gaza”, showing no mercy toward either the old or the young.
The Iranian president stated that the missile arsenal remains a red line for Tehran, despite previous attempts by Washington to include the issue in wider talks with Iran. He said Iran would never negotiate with anyone over its defense capabilities, regardless of outside pressure.
Before the start of the war, the United States had tried to expand discussions with Tehran beyond Iran’s nuclear program. Washington also sought to include Iran’s ballistic missiles and Tehran’s support for allied armed groups in the region as part of the negotiations.
Pezeshkian’s remarks come during the 60-day period for reaching a complete peace agreement between the United States and Iran. At the same time, the U.S. Senate voted for a resolution calling for the termination of American military activities in Iran.
In recent days, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to soften his position on Iran’s missile program. Speaking at the G7 summit in France, Trump said it was “a little unfair” that Iran should not have missiles if other countries have them. That statement was interpreted as a possible sign of greater flexibility from Washington in the negotiations.
However, Tehran’s response shows that the missile program remains one of the issues on which the Iranian leadership is not prepared to compromise. For Iran, the ballistic missile arsenal is being presented not as a negotiable political topic, but as a core element of national defense and survival.
The latest statement from Pezeshkian therefore reinforces Iran’s position that any talks with Washington may address other issues, but not the country’s defense capacities. His message also links Iran’s military posture directly to the recent U.S. and Israeli attacks and to the wider conflict in the Middle East, framing the missile program as the reason Iran was not destroyed in the same way he said Gaza had been.
