The delegations of the United States and Iran are scheduled to meet on February 6, which Tehran seeks to focus solely on its nuclear program. The parties emphasize the intention to de-escalate tensions, amid the naval deployment ordered by Donald Trump in the Middle East, but Tehran warns that it will not make concessions on its ballistic missiles. What is the capacity of the Islamic Republic in this matter? What can be expected from the conversations? We address it.

First modification: 02/04/2026 - 18:11 Last modification: 02/06/2026 - 12:54

Iran has drawn a "red line" in the run-up to its meeting with US envoys, scheduled for next Friday, February 6: limit talks to nuclear issues and keep its ballistic missile capabilities off the table.

The place has yet to be defined, according to the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, this Wednesday, February 4, despite the fact that a day before Tehran requested that the talks be held in Oman.

"Iran will not seek a nuclear weapon, but the other side must pay a price in exchange"

The Islamic Republic – with the largest missile arsenal in the region – considers it an important deterrent and retaliation force against the United States, Israel and other potential regional targets.

Consequently, Ali Shamkhani, a senior Iranian security advisor, pointed out last Monday, February 2, that the talks with the US will focus solely on nuclear issues, which excludes any dialogue regarding ballistic missiles. "Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, will not seek a nuclear weapon and will never stockpile nuclear weapons, but the other side must pay a price in exchange," he said.

A regional official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Reuters news agency, confirmed that Iran has insisted that only its nuclear program be discussed in the meeting with the United States, while Washington seeks to add other issues to the agenda.

Read alsoWitkoff and Araqchi will meet on Friday to discuss a possible Iranian nuclear deal: Reuters

What ballistic missiles does Iran possess and what is their range?

A ballistic missile is a rocket-propelled weapon that can be guided during its initial ascent, before following a free fall trajectory under the influence of gravity. Their warheads can contain conventional explosives or biological, chemical or nuclear munitions and can reach short or intercontinental distances, depending on the type of missile.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has identified some long-range missiles in Iran's possession, including the Sejil, Ghadr and Khorramshahr, all three with a range of up to 2,000 km; the Emad, 1,700 km; or the Hoveyzeh, 1,350 km.

The semi-official Iranian media ISNA published a graph of Iranian ballistic capabilities in April 2025, in which it gave a range of 2,500 km to the Sejil missile.

This figure coincides with a preliminary statistic from the Arms Control Association think tank, a Washington-based think tank, which spoke of a model of the Sejil under development that could reach that distance. The entity points out that Iran's missile program is inspired by North Korean and Russian designs and has benefited from Chinese assistance.

The arsenal of ballistic missiles – which is not necessarily linked to nuclear proliferation – provides Iran with the ability to attack enemies thousands of kilometers away, which has increased the fears of the international community about the possibility that Tehran develops nuclear weapons that it can attach to these missiles, a hypothesis that the Islamic republic has flatly denied.

Iran's ballistic missiles are spread between the capital and at least five underground "missile cities" in several provinces of the country, including Kermanshah and Semnan.

In June 2023, Iran unveiled what authorities described as its first domestically-made hypersonic ballistic missile. These weapons can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and follow a complex trajectory, making them difficult to intercept.

Iran also has cruise missiles such as the Kh-55, an air-launched nuclear-capable weapon with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers.

Read alsoTrump hopes for an agreement with Iran after the supreme leader warned of a regional war

Was Iran's ballistic capabilities weakened after the 12-day war?

On June 13, 2025, Israel launched the so-called 'Operation Crescent Lion' – also known as the 12-day war – against Iranian nuclear facilities, with the stated objective of destroying Iran's nuclear program.

Nine days later, the United States joined the offensive with 'Operation Midnight Hammer', bombing nuclear infrastructures in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan with B-2 stealth bombers and bunker buster bombs. The Pentagon concluded that the series of attacks set back Iran's nuclear program by two years.

However, Iran possesses the largest arsenal of ballistic missiles in the Middle East, according to the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Such capability was demonstrated during the 12-day war, when Tehran attacked Israel with ballistic missiles and destroyed several buildings in the center and north of the country, in retaliation for a previous Israeli attack.

The Government of Benjamin Netanyahu identified the main objective of its attacks as destroying Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

And although the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the AEI Critical Threats Project assured that the Jewish-majority state "probably destroyed around a third of the Iranian missile launchers" during that conflict, the authorities of the Islamic Republic have stressed that the country's military capabilities have already normalized since then.

Read also12-day war: Israel censures the impact of the Iranian attacks

Advance peace and war at the same time?

Last January, seven months after the US military aggression against its biggest rival in the Middle East, Trump threatened an attack "much worse" than the one in June 2025, if Iran did not agree to negotiate a nuclear deal.

Iran responded to the threats, anticipating a counterattack "like never before," in the words of Tehran's mission to the United Nations in a post on X.

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Trump identified an opportunity earlier this year to increase pressure on Tehran, after protests by merchants in the Iranian capital turned into a popular anti-government outbreak in all the country's provinces. The demonstrations lasted for weeks and the Iranian government accepted the death of more than 3,100 people during clashes with public forces – a figure doubled by some human rights organizations in exile.

"Help is on the way," Trump wrote in the midst of the peak of repression in Iran, in the prelude to what would be the naval deployment in the Middle East, with which Washington mobilized the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and several warships. Although the demonstrations have subsided in recent days, the Republican maintains his military pressure against Iran, with the motivation of forcing its leaders to agree on a nuclear weapons agreement.

Two global archenemies will sit at the negotiating table with clearly drawn limits: the US does not want to leave the meeting without a clear and explicit renunciation from Tehran on the production and possession of nuclear weapons, while Iran does not want to sit down to talk if this implies limitations on its lethal ballistic missile industry.

Also read EE. The US shoots down an Iranian drone that "aggressively" approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea

With Reuters and AP

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