A TOP Iranian military commander has said that Iran will negotiate over its missile programme if the United States and Europe dismantle their nuclear programmes, the state-run IRNA news reported at the weekend.

Armed forces spokesman General Masoud Jazayeri said that “the precondition for negotiation over Iran’s [non-nuclear] missiles is the dismantling of the US and Europe’s nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.”

It is the first time that Iran has made the remarks. Iran says its missile programme is a conventional one aimed at deterrence and self-defence and is not negotiable.

The US Trump administration has been trying to persuade European countries that negotiated the landmark nuclear deal with the Obama administration to accept side deals under which they would join the US in reimposing sanctions over Iran’s missile programmes.

The country, long a target for regime change by the US and other Western countries, is surrounded by countries that host US military forces.