A high-ranking Iranian official reiterated on Friday that Tehran's missile program remains a non-negotiable 'red line', after the United States ordered a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East amid a diplomatic stalemate. The senior political adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Al Jazeera in an interview that Iran would respond 'decisively and appropriately' to any military action, as learned by the Noticias Argentinas news agency. 'Iran's missile power is among our red lines and is not subject to negotiation,' he stated, adding that the military remains on high alert and warning that the cost of any 'miscalculation' by foreign powers would be high. Nevertheless, he asserted that talks between Tehran and Washington could advance and safeguard mutual interests if they are based on realism and avoid excessive demands. Later that same day, the government of U.S. President Donald Trump announced it had ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, to join the USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers already deployed in the region. Trump stated he was considering military options if negotiations failed to produce a new nuclear agreement.
