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Iran’s negotiating delegation has left Tehran for a third round of nuclear talks with the U.S., state media reported on Wednesday, even as other Iranian officials slammed comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump during his state of the union address.
The Iranian delegation heading to Geneva is led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. It is expected that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with them on Thursday.
The United States has deployed a vast naval force near the Iranian coast ahead of possible strikes on the Islamic Republic. Trump on Feb. 19 said he was giving Tehran about 10 to 15 days to make a deal.
Responding to Trump’s comments, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei sought to compare him to Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler’s propaganda minister. He accused Trump and his administration of conducting a “disinformation and misinformation campaign” against Iran.
“Whatever they’re alleging in regards to Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s ballistic missiles, and the number of casualties during January’s unrest is simply the repetition of ‘big lies,'” Baghaei wrote on X.
Accuses Iran of restarting nuclear program
Trump briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his state of the union speech to Congress on Tuesday, but many questions remain.
Trump has done little to explain to the American public why he might be leading the U.S. into its most aggressive action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution, and Democrats on Capitol Hill along with some Republicans are balking at any action to be taken without congressional authorization.
Anti-government protests continued for a third day at universities across Iran just as the country faces pressure from the U.S. to give up much of its nuclear program.
The main rationale for possible military action is still unclear. In his speech, Trump pointed to Tehran’s support for militant groups across the Middle East, its killing of protesters and the country’s missile and nuclear programs as threats to the region and the United States.
“The regime and its murderous proxies have spread nothing but terrorism and death and hate,” the Republican president said about 90 minutes into his annual address.
He accused Iran of restarting its nuclear program — after claiming their nuclear capabilities had been “obliterated” last summer in a series of U.S. strikes to support its ally Israel.
Trump said Tuesday that Iran was working to build missiles “soon” that would be capable of reaching the United States and of being responsible for roadside bombings that have killed U.S. service members and civilians.
Iranian state media have claimed that Tehran is developing a missile capable of reaching North America.
Respect Iran’s ‘dignity,’ parliamentary speaker implores
Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with negotiators’ failure to reach an agreement. “They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,'” Trump said in his speech.
Iran says its nuclear research is for civilian energy production.
Trump also faulted the government in Tehran for the deaths of thousands of protesters during recent anti-government demonstrations, although the specific figure he cited — that 32,000 people had been killed — is much higher than most public estimates.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, separately said the U.S. could either try diplomacy or face Iran’s wrath.
“If you choose the table of diplomacy — a diplomacy in which the dignity of the Iranian nation and mutual interests are respected — we will also be at that table,” Qalibaf said, according to the semiofficial Student News Network, a media outlet believed to be close to the all-volunteer Basij force of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The Current24:19Canadians desperate for information about friends and family in Iran
It’s been one month since Iran was rocked by what’s being called the country’s deadliest crackdown in modern history. On January 8th and 9th, security forces brutally attacked protesters who had taken to the streets calling for regime change. It’s still unclear how many people were killed. A shut down of communications has made it tough for people living outside of the country to get information on exactly what happened. CBC’s Liz Hoath brings us this story about Canadians who are slowly learning what’s happened to friends and family back in Iran.
Public comments made by the lead American negotiator about Trump’s state of mind since the last round of negotiations led to a retort from his Iranian counterpart.
“I don’t want to use the word frustrated, because [Trump] understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious as to why they haven’t … I don’t want to use the word capitulated, but why they haven’t capitulated,” Witkoff told Fox News in an interview broadcast on Feb. 21.
Araghchi responded on social media: “Curious to know why we do not capitulate? Because we are Iranian.”
White House must justify its case: Schumer
Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a briefing on Iran hours before the speech for Congress’s “Gang of Eight” — composed of the leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives and the two chambers’ intelligence committees.
“First and foremost, if they want to do something in Iran — and who the hell knows what it is — they should make it public and discuss it with the public and not keep it in secret. When you do these military operations in secret, it always causes longer wars, tragedy, more expenses and [mistakes],” said Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer, shortly before the briefing.
As U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast ‘armada’ draws closer to Iran, CBC News has tracked the location and movements of naval ships and military aircraft in the region.
Trump said he preferred to make peace, listing a range of worldwide conflicts he takes credit for ending, or easing.
Trump and his fellow Republicans rose to the top of U.S. politics with the passionate support of a political base that embraces his “America First” policies and vow to end an era of “forever wars” like the long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The second Trump administration has been more aggressive militarily than the first, launching airstrikes in several countries to pursue its policy goals. In addition to the July strikes at Iranian nuclear sites, there have also have been missiles or drones launched in Venezuela, Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen.
But some military analysts say limited strikes in a country with Iran’s size and military capabilities will not permanently halt Tehran’s nuclear program, and could embolden nationalists in Iran.
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