Iran insisted Wednesday that it was willing to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program, but ruled out broader talks at a pivotal moment in diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.
President Donald Trump has pursued the talks alongside ratcheting threats, and suggested he could send another aircraft carrier group to the Middle East.
Trump was set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later Wednesday, with the U.S. ally expected to push for Tehran's ballistic missile arsenal to be included in any deal.
Iranian leaders have sought to make clear they view this as a red line.
“We are not seeking nuclear weapons and we are ready for any kind of verification,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said early Wednesday, as the country marked the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
Speaking to large crowds gathered in Tehran, he also acknowledged the "great sorrow" caused by authorities' crackdown on the recent wave of unrest in the country.
"We feel ashamed before the people, Pezeshkian said from the stage, as his government sought to balance domestic anger and external pressure.
The death toll from the unrest had reached nearly 7,000 people as of Tuesday, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said. The group says that it verifies each death with a network of activists on the ground in Iran and that its data goes through “multiple internal checks.”
Iran’s government put the official death toll at 3,117 last month. NBC News could not independently verify either figure.
Trump threatened to intervene if the regime shot or executed protesters, but held off from immediate attacks. The U.S. has been building up its military forces in the region for weeks, forces that could support possible strikes as well as pressure Iran in talks.
The president appeared to escalate that pressure on Tuesday.
Trump indicated he could send a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf if talks failed — the USS Abraham Lincoln is already in the area. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” he said in an interview with Axios.
Trump warned last month that time was “running out” for Tehran to come to the table and negotiate a “fair and equitable deal” or face the force of a “massive armada” of American ships.
Tehran said it was ready to defend itself, raising fears of a wider regional confrontation.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Aragchi, said on Sunday that there was “no other option but to negotiate” with the United States.
In another interview with Israel’s Channel 12 on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. will have to do “something very tough” if a deal is not reached.
Israel's leader, Netanyahu, is in Washington in a likely effort to try to convince Trump that any deal must focus not just on curbing Tehran’s nuclear potential but its ballistic missile program and support for regional proxy groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Originally scheduled for later this month, Netanyahu’s visit was brought forward following a first round of U.S.-Iran talks that took place in Oman last week.
Trump told Axios on Tuesday that it was a “no-brainer” for any deal to cover Iran’s nuclear program, but that he thought it should also address Iran’s ballistic missile stockpiles.
Iranian officials have ruled out putting its missiles, one of the largest such arsenals in the Middle East, up for discussion.
Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Wednesday that Iran’s missile capability was not negotiable, state-run news agency IRNA reported.
Israel is concerned that Iran is expanding production of the missile program, which was damaged in the 12 day war between the countries last year.
