Iran rejects U.S. claims on missile programme as 'big lies'

Iran's Foreign Ministry dismisses U.S. missile claims as "big lies" amid escalating tensions over nuclear ambitions and regional security.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday (February 25, 2026) dismissed U.S. claims about its missile programme as “big lies”, after President Donald Trump said Tehran was developing missiles that can strike the United States.

“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’,” Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on X.

Mr. Baqaei did not specify exactly which claims he was responding to, but hours earlier Mr. Trump had said Iran was seeking missiles that could reach American soil.

In an interview with Al Jazeera this month, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran lacked the capability to target the U.S. but would attack American bases in the Middle East if Washington launched a strike.

During his State of the Union speech, Mr. Trump also reiterated that Iran would never be allowed to build a nuclear weapon, saying Tehran’s leaders were “at this moment again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions”.

Iran has repeatedly denied it is seeking a nuclear weapon but insists it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.