The much-awaited 2026 U.S. National Defense Strategy (NDS) was released on January 23 this year. It described Iran as a greatly weakened but still dangerous.
Released by the Department of War, the NDS credited Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, with having “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program.
The NDS read: Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” is devastated. Israeli operations have left Hezbollah and Hamas severely degraded. The U.S. also launched Operation Rough Rider, which degraded the Houthis’ strike capabilities and ultimately compelled the Houthis to sue for peace and stop shooting at U.S. ships, and restored freedom of navigation for U.S. vessels.
The NDS added: Although Iran suffered serious setbacks, it could rebuild its conventional military forces. Iran’s leaders have also left open the possibility that they will try again to obtain a nuclear weapon, including by refusing to engage in meaningful negotiations. It added that even though Iranian proxies were severely degraded, they could rebuild devastated infrastructure and capabilities.
Nor can we ignore the facts that the Iranian regime has the blood of Americans on its hands, that it remains intent on destroying our close ally Israel, and that Iran and its proxies routinely instigate regional crises that not only threaten the lives of American servicemembers in the region but also prevent the region itself from pursuing the kind of peaceful and prosperous future that so many of its leaders and peoples clearly wish for.
The NDS called Israel a model ally and called to empower the Jewish nation further to defend itself and promote shared interests.
Iran Proves NDS Right?
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected any possibility of giving up uranium enrichment in negotiations with the United States, insisting that the Islamic Republic will not bow to threats of war.
Araghchi told a forum in Tehran that Iran had little trust in Washington and doubted that the U.S. side was taking renewed negotiations seriously. He later said Iran was consulting with its “strategic partners” China and Russia about the talks.
“Why do we insist so much on enrichment and refuse to give it up, even if a war is imposed on us? Because no one has the right to dictate our behaviour,” Araghchi said at the forum.
“Their military deployment in the region does not scare us,” he added, referring to the arrival of an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea.
The U.S. and Iran have restarted negotiations in Oman for the first time since Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last year. Tehran wants American U.S. economic sanctions on the country removed, in exchange for what Araghchi said at the forum could be “a series of confidence-building measures concerning the nuclear programme”.
“They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not looking for one. Our atomic bomb is the power to say ‘no’ to the great powers,” Araghchi said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday denounced “the attempt by the most extreme regime in the world to obtain the most dangerous weapon in the world”, calling it “a clear danger to peace”.The U.S. and Israel additionally want the negotiations to go beyond the nuclear issue and include Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for terror groups in the region. Tehran has refused to include those matters in negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday — insists these two components be included in any negotiation, his office said on Saturday.
Araghchi’s comments came after U.S. lead negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited the nuclear-powered USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday, the U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
In a social media post, Witkoff said the aircraft carrier and its strike group were “keeping us safe and upholding President Trump’s message of peace through strength”.
The threat of war continues to hover over the negotiations, even as Trump called the talks “very good” and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said they “constitute a step forward”.
Following Friday’s first round in Oman, Trump signed an executive order calling for the “imposition of tariffs” on countries still doing business with Iran despite U.S. sanctions.
The United States also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports.
At the Tehran forum on Sunday, Araghchi questioned the United States’ commitment to diplomacy.
“The continuation of certain sanctions and military actions raises doubts about the seriousness and readiness of the other side to conduct genuine negotiations,” he said.
“We are monitoring the situation closely, assessing all the signals, and will decide on the continuation of the negotiations.”
The talks between the two foes and the U.S. military buildup in the region follow Iran’s crackdown on anti-government protests that began in late December, sparked by economic grievances.
The authorities in Iran have acknowledged that 3,117 people were killed in the recent protests, publishing on Sunday a list of 2,986 names, most of whom they say were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders.
International organisations have put the toll far higher.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified 6,961 deaths, mostly protesters, and has another 11,630 cases under investigation. It has also counted more than 51,000 arrests.
With Agence France-Presse (AFP) Inputs
