Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday the country’s military capabilities were off limits, ahead of a second round of talks with the United States on its nuclear program.

“National security and defense and military power are among the red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which cannot be discussed or negotiated under any circumstances,” Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said, quoted by state broadcaster IRIB.

Iran and the United States will hold another round of talks on Saturday, a week after top officials met in the Omani capital for the highest-level discussions since the 2015 nuclear deal collapsed.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday, meanwhile, that he was satisfied with the progress of the negotiations, but warned they could ultimately prove fruitless.

Saturday’s talks were “well carried out in the first steps,” Khamenei said, quoted by state television. “Of course, we are very pessimistic about the other side, but we are optimistic about our own capabilities.”

He said neither “exaggerated optimism” nor “extreme pessimism” were appropriate. “The red lines are clear — to us and to the other side,” he said. “If we stick to them, the talks may bear........

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