Turkey’s foreign minister has warned that expanding nuclear talks with Iran to include its ballistic missile program and regional activities would risk triggering another war, even as Washington continues to press for a broader agreement.
“If the US insists on addressing all the issues simultaneously,” Hakan Fidan told the Financial Times, referring to Iran’s missile arsenal and support for militant groups, “I’m afraid even the nuclear file will not move forward … the result could be another war in the region.”
Fidan’s remarks come as the United States maintains that any durable deal with Tehran must go beyond uranium enrichment to include limits on ballistic missiles and an end to support for armed groups across the Middle East.
President Donald Trump repeated that position after hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday, where the two leaders discussed Iran and agreed that the scope of any agreement is a critical issue.
Iranian officials, by contrast, have repeatedly said negotiations should focus solely on the nuclear dossier. Tehran has rejected any discussion of its missile program, which it describes as non-negotiable, and has defended its regional alliances.
Fidan, who has been involved in mediation efforts aimed at preventing a wider conflict, said there were signs of flexibility on both sides regarding enrichment.
“It is positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries,” he said.
“The Iranians now recognize that they need to reach a deal with the Americans, and the Americans understand that the Iranians have certain limits. It’s pointless to try to force them.”
He added that he believed Tehran “genuinely wants to reach a real agreement” and could accept restrictions on enrichment levels and a strict inspections regime, similar to the 2015 nuclear accord.
That agreement capped enrichment at 3.67 percent and sharply limited Iran’s stockpile. However, it did not address missiles or Iran’s support for regional proxies, omissions that critics in Israel and the Persian Gulf have long argued allowed Tehran to expand its military reach.
The renewed diplomacy follows indirect talks in Muscat last week between US envoys and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, facilitated by regional states including Turkey, Qatar and Oman. Both sides described the discussions as a positive first step, though officials have cautioned that major obstacles remain.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters at a foreign policy conference in Tehran that Friday’s Muscat talks were limited to the nuclear file and that Iran would not negotiate on missiles or regional issues.
“Zero enrichment can never be accepted by us,” Araghchi said, adding that talks should focus on arrangements that allow enrichment in Iran.
“We need to focus on discussions that accept enrichment inside Iran while building trust that enrichment is and will remain for peaceful purposes.”
Araghchi said results of the Muscat round were being reviewed and that both sides were waiting for decisions in their capitals on whether to proceed, with any next round expected to remain indirect and potentially be held outside Oman.
“The results of the talks are under review,” Araghchi said. “The overall approach of both countries is to continue the talks, and we are waiting for decision-making in the capitals.”
He added that Iran would not negotiate its missile program or regional policies, pushing back against US calls to widen the agenda.
“The missile issue and regional issues have not been on the agenda and are not on the agenda,” Araghchi said.
Tehran’s top diplomat described the first Muscat meeting as a test of seriousness, adding that talks would continue only if Iran concluded the United States was acting in good faith.
“The first session was a trial of how much we can trust the other side.”
He also said Iran had increased consultations with regional states compared with past nuclear diplomacy, and that Tehran had kept Russia and China informed of the process.
Speaking at the same event, Kamal Kharazi, head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and a former foreign minister, said Tehran’s foreign policy should prioritize ties with neighboring countries while maintaining what he called resistance to coercive pressure from adversaries.
Ali Akbar Salehi, a former foreign minister and senior nuclear official, argued that Iran faced a broader governance challenge in translating its revolutionary ideals with practical policy tools, adding that strengthening the domestic economy and modern capabilities would make Iran’s foreign policy more sustainable.
Saeed Khatibzadeh, head of the Foreign Ministry’s political and international studies center, said the conference aimed to bridge academia, industry and the foreign policy establishment.
Araghchi framed enrichment as tied to sovereignty, saying no outside power could dictate what Iran may possess, and argued that diplomacy could work only if Iran’s rights were respected.
The Muscat talks came amid high regional tensions and an expanded US military posture in the region.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that the talks were a “step forward,” adding that Tehran wanted its rights under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to be respected.
Trump’s messaging has at times appeared mixed. While Washington has insisted that missiles and regional activities be part of any final deal, Trump has also said a nuclear-only agreement could be “acceptable” under certain circumstances.
After meeting Netanyahu, he said negotiations would continue “to see whether or not a deal can be consummated,” adding that if not, “we will just have to see what the outcome will be.”
Israel has pushed strongly for Iran’s missile capabilities to be included in negotiations, arguing that they pose a direct and growing threat. Iran, meanwhile, maintains that its missile program is defensive and outside the scope of nuclear talks.
Iran has enough uranium for a dozen bombs
The nuclear file itself remains fraught. Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Wednesday that inspectors have been denied access for months to three key enrichment sites struck during last year’s 12-day war.
He said the agency has a “firm impression” that about 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to just above 60 percent purity, a level close to weapons-grade, remains at the underground facilities.
“The material is there and this material is enough to manufacture a few, maybe a dozen devices,” Grossi said, warning that analysis cannot substitute for physical inspection and that the stockpile carries clear proliferation risks.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that Iran is willing to open its nuclear sites to “any verification” to prove it is not seeking nuclear weapons, a step that should allow inspectors to assess the damage from the June Israeli and US strikes and account for Iran’s uranium stockpile.
Against that backdrop, Fidan cautioned against attempting to resolve all disputes at once. He argued that while Washington’s primary concern is nuclear capability, “the other issues are closely tied to countries of the region, because missiles and proxies affect regional security.”
He also warned that military action would be unlikely to bring about regime change in Iran. “I don’t think that regime change will occur,” Fidan said, suggesting that while infrastructure and state institutions could be severely damaged, the political system would endure.
