Missiles and Misdirection: Iran Negotiates Nuclear Terms in Geneva While Working on ICBM’s that can Reach U.S.
While much of the coverage of the latest round of nuclear negotiations between the Trump administration and Iran, in Geneva, has focused on technical steps toward a deal, there’s a far more urgent story that remains under-reported: the Iranian regime is actively developing longer-range missile capabilities — potentially on a path toward ICBMs — even as it talks about “progress” at the negotiating table.
NCRI Speakers Available:
Robert G. Torricelli: Former U.S. Senator, NCRI Spokesman
Alireza Jafarzadeh: Deputy Director of NCRI
Shahin Gobadi: Member of NCRI Parliament in Exile
Ali Safavi: Member of NCRI Parliament in Exile
- The Geneva talks have exposed that Iran is actively advancing long-range missile technology — including ICBM-class capabilities — even as negotiations over its nuclear program remain stalled.
- Iran’s missile development has no credible defensive purpose and directly complements its nuclear ambitions, signaling a strategic goal of projecting power well beyond the Middle East and potentially reaching the U.S. homeland.
- The current diplomatic framework dangerously separates Iran’s nuclear program from its missile program, despite both being integral components of a single weapons strategy.
- For more than two decades, the NCRI has provided critical intelligence that exposed Iran’s clandestine nuclear facilities, shaping U.S. policy and contributing to the June decision to strike Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
- NCRI leadership warns that any agreement emerging from Geneva that ignores Iran’s missile trajectory risks repeating past failures — granting Tehran time and leverage while the threat continues to grow.
Indirect talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva, mediated by Oman, have continued this week. Tehran has submitted a draft nuclear proposal and both sides claim there have been serious discussions on elements of a potential agreement. Yet many core issues remain unresolved — not least Tehran’s continued insistence on maintaining enrichment rights, rejecting a permanent halt to enrichment, and refusing to dismantle nuclear facilities outright.
At the same time, U.S. officials — including from the Trump administration — have warned that Iran’s missile program is among the gravest threats to U.S. national security, with Iran reportedly pushing toward longer-range delivery systems that would one day be capable of reaching the continental United States. Intelligence assessments have underscored the regime’s pursuit of intercontinental ballistic missile technology and advanced missile development**,** a threat that goes hand-in-hand with nuclear weapons delivery systems.
This is why the Geneva process, however diplomatically laudable in theory, remains dangerously incomplete: it treats Iran’s nuclear and conventional/missile capabilities as if they were separate issues, rather than integrated components of Tehran’s long-term strategic arsenal.
For more than 20 years, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has been a critical source of intelligence exposing Iran’s clandestine nuclear and weapons programs — informing U.S. and allied policymakers and dramatically reshaping the global understanding of Tehran’s ambitions. NCRI-provided intelligence played a major role in exposing undeclared nuclear sites and helped build the case that led to the decisive strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in June.
Today, NCRI warns that the Geneva talks — while potentially buying time — have so far failed to address Iran’s missile advancements or the broader strategic threat.
Former U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli, the NCRI’s lead spokesman, is available for limited interviews to explain why these negotiations are structurally flawed and why Iran’s long-range missile capability must be part of any credible strategy to contain the regime. Additional senior NCRI leaders with deep expertise in intelligence and Middle East strategy are also available.
The central message is stark: a deal that ignores Iran’s missile trajectory is not a deal at all — it’s a strategic risk with potentially global consequences.
Relevant Article(s):
Iran News in Brief – February 27, 2026 – NCRI
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- How have the Geneva talks revealed that Iran is continuing to advance long-range missile capabilities, including potential ICBMs, despite ongoing negotiations?
- Why does the Iranian regime’s missile program fundamentally change the threat assessment beyond the nuclear issue alone?
- What is the strategic significance of developing ICBMs, given that such weapons have no defensive or regional deterrent purpose?
- Why do current negotiations continue to treat Iran’s nuclear and missile programs as separate issues when they are clearly interconnected?
- Based on NCRI intelligence, how has Iran historically used negotiations to buy time while advancing weapons programs?
- What intelligence has the NCRI provided over the past two decades that helped expose Iran’s clandestine nuclear activities?
- How did NCRI-supplied intelligence factor into the June decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities?
- What are the consequences for U.S. national security if a Geneva agreement fails to address Iran’s missile trajectory?
ABOUT ROBERT G. TORRICELLI…
Senator Robert Torricelli served 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 9th district of New Jersey until January 1997, when he was elected as Democratic Senator from the state of New Jersey. While in the Congress, he was the leading voice for a free Iran and has been advocate of a free and democratic Iran for the past three decades.
In 1999, he joined the Democratic Leadership as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Senator Torricelli served in the House Foreign Affairs Committee as the chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.
Senator Torricelli earned his law degree from Rutgers University and completed a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Before becoming a member of the U.S. Congress, Torricelli served as associate counsel to then-Vice President Walter Mondale.
ABOUT ALIREZA JAFARZADEH…
Alireza Jafarzadeh serves as the Deputy Director of the Washington Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He is also the author of The Iran Threat (Palgrave MacMillan, New York, 2008).
A recognized expert on Iranian policy, Jafarzadeh has been at the forefront of efforts to prevent the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons. His groundbreaking work in 2002 and 2003 led to the discovery of key illicit nuclear sites in Iran, including the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, the Arak heavy water plant, the Kalaye Electric centrifuge testing facility near Tehran, and the Lashkar Ab’ad laser enrichment facility. These revelations prompted the first-ever inspections of Iranian nuclear sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Jafarzadeh is a frequent guest on major television and radio networks, including CBS Evening News, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and France 24. His insights have also been featured in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Time, and The Hill.
ABOUT SHAHIN GOBADI…
Shahin Gobadi, a U.S.-educated nuclear engineer, is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile.
An astute observer of Iranian affairs for over three decades, Gobadi is an expert on topics including Iranian state-sponsored terrorism, proxy groups in the Middle East, the Iranian nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, Western policy toward Iran, and internal Iranian affairs.
He has been interviewed by major international media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, BBC, Sky TV, GB News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Reuters, and the Associated Press. Gobadi’s writings have appeared in prominent media across the U.S. and Europe.
ABOUT ALI SAFAVI…
Ali Safavi is a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Iran’s Parliament-in-Exile.
A sociologist by training, Safavi studied and taught at UCLA, California State University Los Angeles, and the University of Michigan. He was an active participant in the anti-Shah student movement in the 1970s in the United States and has been deeply engaged in Iranian affairs ever since.
Safavi has lectured and written extensively on Iran, Iraq, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and Middle Eastern politics. He has appeared in interviews on networks such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, BBC, Sky TV, Newsmax, and France 24. His articles and commentary have been published in leading outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Boston Herald, The Washington Times, and The Financial Times.
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