WANA (Jun 15) – A source familiar with Iran’s negotiating team has said that the country’s missile program, drone capabilities, and regional relations have been excluded from the scope of ongoing negotiations, with no references to these issues included in the current understanding reached between the parties.

 

According to the source, one of the Iranian delegation’s most significant achievements was preventing two key U.S. demands from becoming part of the talks: restrictions on Iran’s missile capabilities and limitations on its support for regional resistance groups.

 

The source said that during the early stages of the negotiations, the United States sought to broaden the agenda beyond nuclear issues to include Iran’s missile program, drone capabilities, and regional activities. However, the Iranian side maintained from the outset that these matters were unrelated to the negotiations and therefore not open for discussion.

 

“The issue is not merely that Iran has made no commitments regarding its missile capabilities,” the source said. “The reality is that the missile file has been completely removed from the negotiating agenda. There is no clause concerning Iran’s missile or drone programs in the current understanding, nor will these issues be raised in future rounds of talks.”

 

The source added that Iran’s negotiators clearly stated throughout the discussions that the country’s defense capabilities were not subject to negotiation, a position that was ultimately accepted by the U.S. side.

 

As a result, the missile issue has neither been suspended nor postponed for future discussions, the source said, but has instead been entirely excluded from the framework of the negotiations.

 

The source also addressed the issue of Iran’s regional relationships, saying that Washington initially sought to discuss Tehran’s ties with resistance groups, but that demand was likewise omitted from the final text and removed from the agenda.

 

According to the source, future negotiations will focus exclusively on nuclear-related matters, sanctions relief, and economic issues, while Iran’s defense and regional policies will remain outside the scope of the talks.

 

The source concluded by emphasizing that preserving Iran’s missile and drone capabilities, as well as maintaining the regional capacities of its allies, constituted one of the Iranian delegation’s key red lines throughout the negotiations and that these considerations were reflected in the final outcome.