Iran Declares It May Resume American Atomic Discussions if Handled with 'Respect' and 'Honor'
Tehran is willing to reinitiate nuclear negotiations with Washington provided that it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's foreign minister has announced.
Abbas Araghchi declared only diplomacy was effective, and shared fresh requests had originated from go-betweens to reopen talks with the Trump administration. He said Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to authorize the global atomic watchdog to access struck enrichment centers for protective measures.
Navigating a Complex Course
Araghchi is treading a challenging route since Iran wishes not to appear to be proceeding from a position of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged stronger in military terms and mentally from the joint assault on its nuclear sites in June.
He was talking at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to refine atomic fuel on home soil that it will perpetually retain" – the main reason of the deadlock in the previous talks.
Earlier Negotiations Suddenly Terminated
The earlier sessions of talks between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and hostile end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the US president claiming the facilities had been eliminated. Following this, European countries exercised their right to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a major impact.
Perfect Agreement Suggested
Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had attained a "perfect agreement" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with US participation could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to assert triumph since home-based processing would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was entirely non-military.
It had not been settled in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the partnership suggestion. Officials stated three times they had reached agreement with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the deal to disintegrate due to "spoilers in Washington".
Existing Position
Iranian officials stated the consortium offer was now no longer available, but it seems very probable the suggestion could be revived in certain ways if talks reopen.
The US president in recent days said he had been receiving messages that Iran desired to reopen negotiations, but in private Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet receiving coherent offers from Washington either directly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been accused of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran states negotiations is not part of a show.
Negotiating Position
In his address to the conference, intended to depict the US as a controlling nation that misuses the concept of global regulations, Araghchi stated the two-week conflict demonstrated the dispute could not be resolved by armed force. He said the attacks commenced with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an complete request for a ceasefire.
Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were mounted with complete American awareness and cooperation, making trust hard to rebuild.
Dialogue Remains the Primary Resolution
Araghchi declared: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned negotiations; it was America and the European states that had repeatedly sought to dictate their demands during the talks. Diplomacy can still be alive and remains the primary solution to settle disagreements, but its criteria, rules and fundamentals must be followed."
"Provided that they talk to the Iranian people with the approach of respect and honor, they will get a reply in the identical tone."
Recovery and Rebuilding
In what is described by Iranian officials as the struggle of restoration and rebuilding, Araghchi said he was certain Iran's security strengths "are considerably enhanced than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been restored. We gained numerous insights from this engagement; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of the enemy."
He continued: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they aimed to destroy, remains in place. The sites and machinery, if destroyed, will be rebuilt; what is crucial is the will of the nation of Iran and then the social solidarity that they targeted, but did not succeed to destroy. The Iranian people have grown more resilient, more integrated, and more endorsing of the leadership and the nation in the face of this invasion."