Shehbaz Sharif rejects Rubio's claim, says Iran ballistic missile program not part of US-Iran MoU
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Shehbaz Sharif rejects Rubio's claim, says Iran ballistic missile program not part of US-Iran MoU")
This handout photograph taken on June 23, 2026 and released by Pakistan's Prime Minister's Office shows Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) shaking hands with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his ceremonial reception at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad. Photograph: (AFP)
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Iran’s ballistic missile programme was never discussed in the recent US-Iran MoU, contradicting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks on future negotiations.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Tuesday, said that Iran's ballistic missile programme was not part of any discussion in the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that it was likely to be discussed in the later stages of the talks in Gulf states. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that he could firmly confirm "without fear of contradiction that Iran's ballistic missile program was not a subject of discussion between the US and Iran." Sharif was making those statements in a press conference with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, following a delegation-level talks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday told the media in Washington trying to ease concerns about Iran's ballistic missile program and proxies, saying that these are likely to be discussed at a later stage of the discussion. “You can’t have the end of hostilities and conflicts in the region as long as Iranian proxies are launching missiles and drones from Iraq and are participating in terrorism like Hamas did and like Hezbollah did,” said Rubio. “So I do think it’s covered by the MOU, and it is an issue that will be gotten to at the appropriate time in these negotiations.”
“It was not on the table”, said Sharif, suggesting that the preliminary US-Iran agreement made no mention of ballistic missiles."It is not possible that others have missiles and Iran does not have them." Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian added, “If the missiles we have for our defence did not exist, Israel and the United States would have ploughed Iran just like Gaza.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghei said in an interview last week, “Our missiles do not like at all to be talked about by anyone.”
Sharif condemned the “double standards”, suggesting that it was completely normal for sovereign nations like Iran to develop defensive missile capabilities, the same as every other country does globally. Sharif praised the "sagacious" leadership of Pezeshkian and other Iranian leaders and highlighted Pakistan's role as an "honest and sincere mediator" in the peace process. He further suggested that some countries are unhappy with the progress in diplomatic talks and improving relations among regional actors. So they are purposefully spreading misinformation to undermine the developments.
