Iran Denies US Claims on Missile Program as 'Big Lie'

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. (Source: IRNA)

JAKARTA - The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denied the United States' claims about its missile program as a 'big lie', after President Donald Trump claimed that Tehran was developing missiles that could attack the Uncle Sam's country.

"Whatever they accuse Iran of regarding its nuclear program, Iranian ballistic missiles and the number of casualties during the January riots, is just a repetition of the 'big lie'," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei tweeted on X, as reported by Al Arabiya from AFP (25/2).

Baqaei did not specify which claims he was responding to, but hours earlier President Trump said Iran was seeking missiles that could reach US territory.

In an interview in February, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran did not have the ability to target the US, but would attack American bases in the Middle East if Washington launched an attack.

During his 2026 State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, President Trump also reiterated that Iran would never be allowed to build a nuclear weapon, saying Tehran's leaders "are now once again pursuing their evil nuclear ambitions."

Iran has repeatedly denied it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but insists it has a right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The US President also claimed that Iranian authorities had killed 32,000 people during the latest wave of protests in Iran which started in December last year and peaked on January 8 and 9, 2026.

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

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has recorded more than 7,000 deaths, while warning that the actual number of victims is likely to be much higher.