ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday said Tehran is ready to restart talks with Washington but stressed that its ballistic missile program “remains a red line.”

“We are ready to enter negotiations if these negotiations are from an equal footing, based on mutual interests and mutual respect,” Aragchi said during a presser in Turkey’s Istanbul. Ankara has offered to mediate talks between Washington and Tehran.

While Iran remains under heavy international sanctions and pressure over its nuclear program, it has repeatedly said that its ballistic missile program is “not subject to negotiation,” insisting on its right to defend the country, as well as its right to pursue the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

“I want to state firmly that Iran's defensive and missile capabilities will never be subject to negotiation", Araghchi said, adding that there are currently no meetings planned with US officials.

“For now, the ballistic missile program remains a red line, as it sits at the core of Iran's defense architecture,” he asserted.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking at the presser alongside Araghchi, accused Israel of pushing the US into attacking Iran, urging Washington to “act with common sense and not allow this to happen.”

Iranian authorities have delivered a heavy-handed response to the ongoing nationwide protests, killing, injuring, and arresting tens of thousands of demonstrators according to unconfirmed reports from human rights watchdogs. The US has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Iran continues killing protesters.

Both Tehran and Washington have expressed a degree of willingness to enter new negotiations.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, US President Donald Trump said Washington has “a large armada… heading toward Iran right now, even larger than what we had in Venezuela,” stating: “we’ll see what happens,” if Washington and Tehran fail to reach an agreement.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Thursday that there would be “no negotiations” with the US without guarantees over the rights of Iranians and the country’s economy.