As Iran marks revolution anniversary, official insists missile program nonnegotiable

Iran’s missile capabilities are its red line and are not a subject to be negotiated, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Wednesday, as the Islamic Republic marked the anniversary of the 1979 revolution with events overshadowed by the looming threat of US military action.

“The Islamic Republic’s missile capabilities are nonnegotiable,” Ali Shamkhani said, according to state media, while appearing in a march commemorating the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

Washington has long sought to extend talks on Iran’s nuclear capabilities to additionally cover its missile program. Iran has said it is prepared to discuss curbs on its nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions, but has repeatedly ruled out linking the issue to other questions, including missiles.

US President Donald Trump has not ruled out strikes against Tehran although, after initially threatening military action due to the regime’s treatment of protesters, he has since tied his decision to a potential deal on the Iranian nuclear program. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who wants a tougher stance against Tehran, was due to hold talks with Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

In a speech at Azadi Square in the capital for the 47th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would not yield to “excessive demands” from Washington.

“Our Iran will not yield in the face of aggression, but we are continuing dialogue with all our strength with neighboring countries in order to establish peace and tranquility in the region,” he said.

Pezeshkian also insisted that his nation was “not seeking nuclear weapons…. and are ready for any kind of verification.” However, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — has been unable for months to inspect and verify Iran’s nuclear stockpile. Western countries and Israel believe Iran is seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon.

“The high wall of mistrust that the United States and Europe have created through their past statements and actions does not allow these talks to reach a conclusion,” Pezeshkian said.

Iran and the US resumed negotiations last week for the first time since Tehran’s war with Israel last June that also saw the US conduct strikes on nuclear sites in Iran.

Iran wants the talks to remain centered purely on its nuclear program, while the United States wants the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program and its support for terror groups and militia in the region to be discussed as well.

In the streets of Tehran on Wednesday, people waved images of Khamenei and the late ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, alongside Iranian and Palestinian flags.

Some chanted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Others criticized Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, who had been calling for anti-government protests.

People also carried images of Trump with the slogan “We will disappoint our enemies.”

Crackdown ’caused great sorrow’

Protesters, meanwhile, renewed anti-government chants from the balconies of residential blocks, in defiance of an ongoing crackdown on opposition to the clerical system, which saw security forces kill thousands.

Late Tuesday as authorities set off fireworks to mark the event, people took to balconies in Tehran to chant slogans including “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator,” according to footage shared by widely followed protest monitor channels on Telegram and X including Vahid Online and Mamlekate.

AFP verified three such videos posted by Mamlekate.

«راس ساعت ۹ شب ۲۲ بهمن ۱۴۰۴ همزمان با منور زدن عرزشیا مردم علیه حکومت شعار دادن تهران» pic.twitter.com/lFMYVYQy2Z

— مملکته (@mamlekate) February 10, 2026

Iran last month saw a nationwide protest movement that sparked a major crackdown, with the United States threatening military action in support of the demonstrators.

While not directly addressing the bloodshed by authorities, Pezeshkian on Wednesday acknowledged that the recent brutal crackdown against protesters had “caused great sorrow.”

“We are ashamed before the people, and we are obligated to assist all those who were harmed in these incidents,” he said. “We are not seeking confrontation with the people.”

However, he also criticized what he described as “Western propaganda” over the crackdown.

According to US-based group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), 6,984 people, including 6,490 protesters, were killed during the protests as authorities launched the crackdown, and at least 52,623 people have been arrested.

Those arrested most recently have included figures in the reformist movement inside Iran who supported Pezeshkian’s 2024 election campaign.

The chanting of the slogans late Tuesday marked a “continuation of the nationwide protests despite the prevailing security atmosphere and widespread control measures,” HRANA said.

February 11, or Bahman 22 according to the Persian calendar, marks the anniversary of the resignation of the ousted shah’s last prime minister and the formal assumption of power by revolutionary leader Khomenei.

The protests and threat of US military action have posed a major challenge for  Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who took up his post for life in 1989 after the death of Khomeini.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.