Iran Declares It May Resume American Atomic Talks if Approached with 'Dignity' and 'Honor'
Iran is prepared to reinitiate nuclear talks with the United States on condition that it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has declared.
Abbas Araghchi declared exclusively dialogue was effective, and shared new appeals had originated from go-betweens to reopen discussions with the American leadership. He said Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to permit the UN nuclear inspectorate to access attacked atomic facilities for protective measures.
Walking a Difficult Route
Araghchi is walking a complex path since Iran does not want be seen to be proceeding from a situation of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged stronger in military terms and emotionally from the joint assault on its nuclear sites in June.
He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material within its borders that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.
Prior Discussions Suddenly Terminated
The prior phases of discussions between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, struck Tehran's atomic facilities in a two-week conflict that culminated with Donald Trump asserting the locations had been obliterated. Following this, Western states used their authority to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran insists they have not had a substantial consequence.
Ideal Resolution Offered
Tehran representatives claimed they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was settled an local partnership with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Each party would have been able to claim victory since local refinement would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was solely for peaceful purposes.
It had not been settled in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Officials stated three times they had achieved a deal with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the arrangement to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".
Existing Status
Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be resurrected in certain ways if discussions resume.
Trump last week said he had been receiving messages that Iran sought to restart talks, but in private Iranian officials say they are not yet getting coherent offers from Washington either directly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of passivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a show.
Political Standpoint
In his speech to the forum, aimed to paint the US as a dominant force that misuses the notion of worldwide standards, Araghchi stated the 12-day war demonstrated the clash could not be ended by combat operations. He said the attacks commenced with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an absolute demand for a halt to hostilities.
Iran is certain the first strikes by Israel were carried out with full US knowledge and coordination, making trust difficult to rebuild.
Dialogue Stays the Primary Solution
The foreign minister stated: "Tehran was not the one that had fled dialogue; it was the United States and the European states that had always sought to impose their desires during the negotiations. Diplomacy can still be viable and remains the primary resolution to settle disputes, but its standards, rules and principles must be adhered to."
"If they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the language of respect and honor, they will get a response in the equivalent tone."
Repair and Recovery
In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the conflict of repair and recovery, Araghchi said he was confident Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We acquired many lessons from this war; we have discovered our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."
He stated: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they planned to destroy, remains in place. The facilities and equipment, if damaged, will be restored; what is important is the determination of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they aimed at, but were unable to shatter. The Iranian people have developed more resilient, more cohesive, and more backing of the government and the state in the wake of this attack."