Tehran Declares It May Rejoin US Atomic Negotiations if Treated with 'Dignity' and 'Respect'
Tehran is willing to restart nuclear talks with Washington on condition that it is handled with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's foreign minister has declared.
The Iranian diplomat declared exclusively dialogue worked, and disclosed new appeals had come from go-betweens to restart negotiations with the US government. He claimed Iran did not have unreported enrichment locations, and Iran was not yet able to permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.
Walking a Challenging Path
Araghchi is treading a complex path since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be proceeding from a position of disadvantage, and he consistently maintained that Iran had arisen more powerful defensively and emotionally from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.
He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material within its borders that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the impasse in the previous talks.
Earlier Discussions Suddenly Terminated
The prior phases of negotiations between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and hostile termination on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with Donald Trump claiming the facilities had been destroyed. Following this, European countries employed their privilege to reinstate global restrictions, but Iran insists they have not had a significant effect.
Ideal Resolution Proposed
Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had attained a "ideal resolution" to the enrichment issue in previous talks, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with Washington's engagement could enrich uranium. Both sides would have been able to assert triumph since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be assured that Iran's nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful.
It had not been agreed in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Officials asserted repeatedly they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the agreement to collapse due to "detractors in America".
Existing Situation
Iran's diplomats said the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be resurrected in certain ways if discussions restart.
The US president last week stated he had been getting signals that Iran desired to restart talks, but in private Iranian officials state they are not yet getting clear proposals from the United States either directly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been accused of non-responsiveness in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran asserts dialogue is not part of a show.
Political Position
In his speech to the forum, designed to paint the US as a dominant force that misuses the concept of international law, Araghchi said the 12-day war demonstrated the clash could not be settled by armed force. He stated the strikes commenced with a American requirement for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an complete request for a truce.
Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with total Washington understanding and collaboration, making confidence difficult to reestablish.
Diplomacy Stays the Primary Resolution
Araghchi declared: "Tehran was not the one that had deserted dialogue; it was America and the European states that had repeatedly sought to dictate their will during the discussions. Dialogue can still be active and remains the primary resolution to address conflicts, but its requirements, guidelines and tenets must be adhered to."
"If they talk to the Iranian people with the approach of dignity and respect, they will get a reply in the identical tone."
Repair and Rebuilding
In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the conflict of repair and rebuilding, the foreign minister stated he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this conflict; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of the adversary."
He added: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our nuclear technology, which they planned to obliterate, continues to exist. The installations and machinery, if eliminated, will be restored; what is essential is the will of the nation of Iran and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but were unable to destroy. The Iranian people have developed stronger, more united, and more endorsing of the administration and the country in the wake of this invasion."