TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that his country has no choice but to manufacture missiles for defense purposes — comments that come after a remark by the top diplomat that seemed to suggest the missiles could be up for negotiations.

Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with NBC News that aired earlier this week that if the U.S. wants to talk about Iran's missiles, it needs "first to stop selling all these weapons, including missiles, to our region."

Iran has long rejected negotiations over its ballistic missile program, which remains under the control of the Ir...