While negotiations in Vienna on the nuclear issue continue sluggishly without a breakthrough, Iran continues to exert pressure and threaten the negotiating partners. Moreover, Iran is more than just implying that it has other options if no arrangement is reached, including linking the advanced nuclear capabilities it has reached in the past year and its ballistic missiles that could reach Europe.

A conservative Iranian newspaper close to the regime recently reported that a solid-fuel engine tested in Iran could increase Iranian missile range to 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles), threatening European countries. The newspaper also praised President Ebrahim Raisi’s government, which, unlike its predecessor, exhibits an uncompromising negotiating position with the West, particularly where developing Iran’s missile capabilities is concerned.