ISTANBUL, Turkey — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is open to restarting Iran-US talks with Washington if negotiations are “fair and equitable,” but insisted Iran’s missile and defense capabilities are off-limits, Jan. 30, 2026.
His comments, delivered at a joint appearance with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, came as President Donald Trump renewed pressure for a deal and as Turkey offered to help de-escalate a standoff that has brought additional U.S. military assets into the region.
Iran-US talks: What Araghchi says is negotiable — and what is not
Araghchi said Iran “has no problem with negotiations,” but argued talks “cannot take place under the shadow of threats,” according to a Reuters report from the press conference.
In his sharpest red line, he said Iran’s “defensive and missile capabilities … will never be the subject of any negotiations,” reinforcing Tehran’s long-standing claim that its ballistic missiles are a sovereign deterrent rather than a bargaining chip. Araghchi also said there were no meetings arranged with U.S. officials.
The same day, The Associated Press reported that Araghchi told reporters Iran is “ready for fair and equitable negotiations” but has no plans “to meet with the Americans,” while warning that Iran is also prepared for conflict if attacked.
Turkey’s mediation offer as pressure rises
Ankara, which borders Iran and is a NATO member, has repeatedly opposed foreign military intervention and has positioned itself as a potential go-between. In the Reuters account, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Turkey was ready to play a “facilitator” role between Tehran and Washington.
Fidan said he held lengthy talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and urged a step-by-step approach, arguing that nuclear negotiations should restart and disputes should be handled “one by one.” He said renewed Iran-US talks could pave the way to lifting sanctions on Iran.
Why the missile issue keeps returning
The latest Iran-US talks messaging is tied to a deeper dispute about what a “fair” negotiation should cover. Iran wants a return to nuclear-focused diplomacy, while Washington has increasingly pressed for constraints that reach beyond enrichment, including missiles.
That same argument surfaced during the rise and collapse of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear accord that traded limits and monitoring for sanctions relief. Trump later withdrew the United States from the agreement, a move he outlined in his May 2018 withdrawal statement.
More recently, analysis of the 2025 Oman track of indirect contacts suggested the sides struggled over sequencing, guarantees and what issues could be packaged into one deal — dynamics described in a Council on Foreign Relations assessment of where talks were headed.
What happens next
Any restart of Iran-US talks now hinges on whether Washington is willing to keep missiles off the agenda and whether Tehran believes it can secure nuclear-related relief without negotiating under military pressure. Trump, meanwhile, has portrayed deployments as leverage; he wrote of a “massive armada” heading toward Iran in a TIME report quoting his social media post.
Turkey’s offer to facilitate may provide a channel to test whether the sides can return to nuclear discussions without widening the agenda — or whether the red lines harden into another stalemate.
