{"id":340847,"date":"2025-12-25T23:14:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T22:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=340847"},"modified":"2025-12-25T23:14:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T22:14:08","slug":"irans-regime-talks-tough-because-its-weaker-than-it-looks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/nuclear\/irans-regime-talks-tough-because-its-weaker-than-it-looks\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Regime Talks Tough Because It\u2019s Weaker Than It Looks"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_337273\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-337273\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-337273\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iran-irgc-missile-parade-2024.jpg\" alt=\"Iranian regime\u2019s September 21, 2024, parade displayed 21 ballistic missiles near Khomeini\u2019s mausoleum, a show of force meant to project strength amid rising tensions\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iran-irgc-missile-parade-2024.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iran-irgc-missile-parade-2024-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iran-irgc-missile-parade-2024-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iran-irgc-missile-parade-2024-746x420.jpg 746w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iran-irgc-missile-parade-2024-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iran-irgc-missile-parade-2024-696x392.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-337273\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Iranian regime\u2019s September 21, 2024, parade displayed 21 ballistic missiles near Khomeini\u2019s mausoleum, a show of force meant to project strength amid rising tensions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><em>Two-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the span of a few days, Iranian officials and state-linked outlets have amplified a familiar message: &#8220;Iran\u2019s missile program is non-negotiable, military readiness is high, and international oversight bodies are acting politically.&#8221; The pattern\u2014aggressive language, noisy reporting around missile activity, and confrontational responses to the IAEA and UN human-rights mechanisms\u2014signals a regime intent on projecting strength to both external adversaries and a domestic base under strain.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">A \u201cnon-negotiable\u201d missile doctrine<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At his weekly press briefing on Monday, December 22, 2025, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail <a href=\"https:\/\/en.mehrnews.com\/news\/240058\/Iran-rejects-missile-talks-says-program-designed-for-defense\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Baghaei rejected<\/a> any negotiations over the regime\u2019s missile program, framing it as designed to protect sovereignty and territorial integrity and therefore not subject to bargaining.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In parallel coverage, Baghaei cast the broader Western focus on the regime\u2019s military capabilities as politically motivated and argued Iran\u2019s defense posture is deterrent in nature rather than a topic for diplomatic trade-offs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hours after Baghaei\u2019s remarks, an information surge around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/iranian-state-media-report-missile-drills-different-iranian-cities-2025-12-22\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alleged missile activity<\/a> spread through Iranian media ecosystems.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Tehran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Tehran<\/a> Escalates War Rhetoric to Mask Decline and Bolster Demoralized Forces<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nz151KuRIs\">https:\/\/t.co\/nz151KuRIs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy\/status\/1958140088421921116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 22, the IRGC-run <a href=\"https:\/\/farsnews.ir\/M_r7726\/1766404424519783770\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fars News Agency reported<\/a> that \u201cfield observations and people\u2019s reports\u201d suggested missile testing occurred in several parts of the country, naming Khorramabad, Mahabad, Isfahan, Tehran, and Mashhad.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Later the same day, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.mehrnews.com\/news\/240068\/Reports-from-inside-Iran-suggest-missile-launch-exercise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mehr News Agency reported<\/a> that IRIB (state broadcaster), citing \u201cinformed sources,\u201d rejected the missile-test narrative, stating that no missile tests were conducted and that the white trails in the sky were attributable to a high-altitude aircraft rather than missile launches.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The divergence suggests a calibrated posture in which the mullahs in Tehran seek the psychological and deterrent value of showing off capability, while preserving deniability to avoid triggering the regional and international costs that can follow overt escalation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a>\u2019s Regime Projects Military Defiance as Domestic Crises Tighten the Squeeze <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IEQhI4QPSD\">https:\/\/t.co\/IEQhI4QPSD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amsafavi\/status\/2002796610456273066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Defiance toward the UN<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Meanwhile, Iranian state officials <a href=\"https:\/\/en.mehrnews.com\/news\/240058\/Iran-rejects-missile-talks-says-program-designed-for-defense\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">described ongoing \u201ccontacts\u201d<\/a> with the IAEA\u2014while simultaneously rejecting what the regime characterizes as &#8220;politicized pressures&#8221; on its program.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On December 24, the regime\u2019s ruling establishment signaled another obstructionist turn: nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said Tehran would stonewall requests to inspect nuclear sites struck in recent attacks, hiding behind a procedural pretext that there is \u201cno established regulation\u201d for post-strike inspections. The same day, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.presstv.ir\/Detail\/2025\/12\/24\/761198\/Iran-political-pressure-ineffective-until-rules-set-for-inspecting-damaged-nuclear-sites\">Eslami escalated<\/a> the rhetoric further, smearing inspection demands as an attempt to \u201ccomplete the enemy\u2019s operations\u201d\u2014a line that makes plain the regime\u2019s strategy: demonize oversight and block verification, rather than allow independent scrutiny.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Iran<\/a>&#39;s Regime Dismisses Gaza Ceasefire, Defies <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IAEA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@IAEA<\/a> and Keeps Missile Talks Off Limits<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/clj8FHa6ZH\">https:\/\/t.co\/clj8FHa6ZH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iran_policy\/status\/1975188392196415760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following the UN <a href=\"https:\/\/press.un.org\/en\/2025\/ga12747.doc.htm\">General Assembly\u2019s adoption<\/a> of the Third Committee resolution A\/C.3\/80\/L.30 on December 18, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irna.ir\/news\/86029588\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IRNA quoted<\/a> Gholamhossein Darzi, the regime\u2019s ambassador and deputy head of its UN mission, railing against the text as \u201cbaseless,\u201d \u201cunnecessary,\u201d and politically motivated, and complaining that \u201ccountry-specific\u201d resolutions are inherently confrontational and undermine \u201creal dialogue.\u201d In other words: rather than address the substance of the human-rights allegations, the clerical establishment defaulted to procedural attacks and vote-count propaganda meant to delegitimize scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ultimately, this belligerent rhetoric is less a sign of confidence than a tool of deception: it is crafted to mask strategic setbacks, to persuade foreign adversaries that Tehran remains formidable, and to keep a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/iranian-regime-infighting\/irans-power-struggle-a-fractured-regime-hiding-behind-bold-rhetoric\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shrinking, demoralized support base<\/a> from concluding that the regime is losing control. In that sense, the escalating language and choreographed signals are not about changing reality on the ground\u2014they are about managing perceptions at home and abroad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two-minute read In the span of a few days, Iranian officials and state-linked outlets have amplified a familiar message: &ldquo;Iran&rsquo;s missile program is non-negotiable, military readiness is high, and international [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":337273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,19],"tags":[287,1175],"class_list":{"0":"post-340847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nuclear","8":"category-terrorism-a-fundamentalism","9":"tag-iran-terrorism","10":"tag-iran-nuclear"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Iran\u2019s Regime Talks Tough Because It\u2019s Weaker Than It Looks - 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