Iranian Official Responds To Trump’s SOTU Remarks By Invoking Joseph Goebbels

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran backed down on Wednesday US President Donald Trump’s pressure tactics Before critical talks in Geneva Tehran’s nuclear programHe alternates between calling his remarks “big lies” and saying that negotiations could lead to an agreement through “honorable diplomacy.”

The remarks by two Iranian officials ahead of Thursday’s talks came as America meets Largest aircraft and warship deployment to the Middle East in decadesIt’s part of Trump’s efforts to reach a deal at a time when Iran is struggling with growing opposition following nationwide protests last month.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if negotiations fail; Middle Eastern countries fear that this situation will turn into a new regional war that lasts for years. Israel-Hamas war still smoldering. Iran has already said that all US military bases in the Middle East will be seen as legitimate targets and that tens of thousands of American soldiers in the region will be put at risk.

Satellite photos taken Tuesday by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press show American ships typically docked in Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and completely at sea. The 5th Fleet referred questions to the U.S. military’s Central Command, but did not immediately respond. Before Iran attacked Qatar in June, the 5th Fleet similarly dispersed its ships at sea to protect against a possible attack.

Trump touched on Iran and nuclear negotiations in his annual State of the Union address in the United States on Tuesday night.

“They have developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our overseas bases, and they are working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States,” Trump said. “They have been warned not to make any future attempts to rebuild their weapons programs, especially nuclear weapons, but they continue anyway. They start all over again.”

Satellite photos previously analyzed by the AP showed Iran begins rebuilding missile production facilities and I do some working at three nuclear facilities It was attacked by the USA in June. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful. The West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Iran had a nuclear weapons program until 2003. Before the June attack, Iran was enriching uranium to 60% purity; this was a short, technical step away from the weapons-grade level of 90%.

Responding to Trump, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei tried to compare him to Adolf Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. He accused Trump and his administration of waging a “disinformation and misinformation campaign” against Iran.

“Whatever their claims about Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s ballistic missiles, and the death toll during the January riots are nothing more than a repetition of ‘big lies,’” Baghaei wrote to X.

Trump said in his speech that at least 32,000 people had been killed in the protests; This figure is the latest of activists’ estimates of the death toll. The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency has counted the following so far: More than 7,000 dead and believes the death toll is much higher. The Iranian government, which has long downplayed the death toll in other incidents, announced its only death toll on January 21, saying 3,117 people were killed.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf also said the US could either try diplomacy or face Iran’s wrath.

“If you choose the table of diplomacy, a diplomacy that respects the dignity of the Iranian nation and common interests, we will be at that table,” Qalibaf said, according to the semi-official Student News Network, which is believed to be close to the all-volunteer Basij force of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

However, if you decide to repeat past experiences through deception, lies, faulty analysis and misinformation and launch an attack in the middle of negotiations, you will undoubtedly taste the harsh blow of the Iranian nation and the country’s defense forces.

Iran and the United States will meet on Thursday for a third round of talks mediated by Oman, a long-time interlocutor between Tehran and the West. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his team left Tehran on Wednesday afternoon for Geneva, where they will meet with American officials led by US special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

If the talks fail, there will be uncertainty about the timing, mission and objectives of a possible attack.

The United States did not clarify the aims of the possible military action. If the goal is to force Iran to make concessions in nuclear negotiations, it is unclear whether limited strikes will work. If the goal is to eliminate Iran’s leaders, this would likely lead the United States into a larger and longer military campaign. There is no public indication of what will happen next, including the potential for chaos in Iran.

The status of Iran’s nuclear program is another mystery. Trump has previously said American attacks have “destroyed” him. Now it seems that eliminating everything that’s left of the program is back on the administration’s agenda. IAEA inspectors were not allowed to inspect these facilities and verify what remained.

There is also uncertainty about what any military action might mean for the region. Tehran could retaliate against America’s allies in the Persian Gulf countries or Israel. Oil prices have risen in recent days partly due to these concerns.

Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.