Iran has pushed back against President Donald Trump ahead of negotiations in Geneva involving the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, deeming his statements as “big lies,” while assuring that talks between the two nations may guarantee a deal if “honorable diplomacy” is used.

During his State of the Union speech on Feb. 24, President Trump drew attention to the nuclear negotiations between the US and Tehran.

“They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” President Trump said. “They were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, and in particular nuclear weapons, yet they continue. They’re starting it all over.”

In response, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei accused the Trump administration, including the president, of performing a “disinformation & misinformation campaign” against Tehran.

“Whatever they’re alleging in regards to Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s ballistic missiles, and the number of casualties during January’s unrest is simply the repetition of ‘big lies,’” Baghaei wrote on X.

Regarding the negotiations taking place in Geneva on Feb. 26, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, spoke separately about the talks between the two, expressing that the US could either use diplomatic efforts or face Tehran’s wrath.

“If you choose the table of diplomacy — a diplomacy in which the dignity of the Iranian nation and mutual interests are respected — we will also be at that table,” Qalibaf said. “But if you decide to repeat past experiences through deception, lies, flawed analysis and false information, and launch an attack in the midst of negotiations, you will undoubtedly taste the firm blow of the Iranian nation and the country’s defensive forces.”

The statements by the two Iranian officials ahead of the scheduled negotiations come as the US has assembled its largest deployment of aircraft and vessels along the Middle East in decades.