Zürcher Nachrichten - Iran dismisses missile, nuclear claims after Trump alleges 'sinister ambitions'

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump accused Tehran of "sinister nuclear ambitions" as Washington ups the pressure with a massive military deployment around the Gulf.

The two foes are scheduled to meet for a third round of talks on Thursday in the Swiss city of Geneva in an effort to reach a diplomatic solution.

Trump claimed Tehran had "already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America".

He said Iran wants "to start all over again" with its nuclear programme and is "at this moment again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions".

But Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Wednesday refuted those claims, without mentioning Trump directly.

"Whatever they're alleging in regards to Iran's nuclear programme, Iran's ballistic missiles, and the number of casualties during January's unrest, is simply the repetition of 'big lies'," he said on X.

The US president had also claimed that Iranian authorities killed 32,000 people during a wave of protests that started in December and peaked on January 8 and 9.

The West believes Iran is seeking an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful. Trump has threatened to launch strikes on Iran if no deal is reached.

Tehran has repeatedly said it would respond firmly to any attack, warning that even a limited strike "would be regarded as an act of aggression".

"My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy but one thing is certain: I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Hours before his speech, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi declared that a deal to avoid a military clash was within reach.

"We have a historic opportunity to strike an unprecedented agreement that addresses mutual concerns and achieves mutual interests," Araghchi said in a social media post, adding that a deal was "within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority".

Araghchi vowed Iran will "under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon", but insisted on the country's right to "harness dividends of peaceful nuclear technology".

Iran and the US held five rounds of nuclear talks last year but those negotiations ended after Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran triggered a 12-day war.

- 'Red lines' -

Inside Iran, university students kicked off a new semester at the weekend with gatherings reviving slogans from nationwide protests against the clerical leadership, keeping up domestic pressure on the leadership.

On Tuesday, the fourth consecutive day of the campus protests, videos verified by AFP showed two groups facing off in a large hall at a Tehran university before scuffles broke out.

The day before, students had burned the flag adopted by Iran's Islamic republic after the 1979 revolution, according to verified videos.

Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani, giving the first official reaction to the rallies, said that while students had a right to protest, they must "understand the red lines".

The flag, she added, was one "of these red lines that we must protect and not cross or deviate from, even at the height of anger".

The initial wave of protests began in December, sparked by economic woes in sanctions-hit Iran, but soon grew into nationwide demonstrations that posed one of the largest challenges to Iran's leaders in years.

The unrest prompted a violent crackdown that killed thousands.

Iranian officials acknowledge more than 3,000 deaths, but say the violence was caused by "terrorist acts" fuelled by the United States and Israel.

A.P.Huber--NZN