Iran Declares It Might Resume US Atomic Discussions if Treated with 'Dignity' and 'Honor'
Tehran is ready to reinitiate atomic negotiations with the United States provided that it is handled with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has announced.
Abbas Araghchi declared only diplomacy produced results, and disclosed recent overtures had originated from go-betweens to reopen talks with the Trump administration. He said Iran possessed no undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran could not yet permit the global atomic watchdog to access attacked atomic facilities for safety concerns.
Navigating a Challenging Path
Araghchi is walking a difficult route since Iran aims to avoid appear to be operating from a stance of vulnerability, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out more powerful in military terms and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.
He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the impasse in the earlier negotiations.
Prior Talks Unexpectedly Concluded
The earlier sessions of discussions between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, targeted Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that culminated with the US president asserting the sites had been obliterated. Afterward, European countries used their right to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.
Ideal Resolution Offered
Tehran representatives claimed they felt they had achieved a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Both sides would have been able to declare success since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be assured that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.
It had not been settled in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could work inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Representatives asserted repeatedly they had secured an understanding with Washington's diplomat the American negotiator only for the arrangement to collapse due to "detractors in America".
Present Position
Iran's diplomats stated the cooperative arrangement was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be resurrected in some form if talks reopen.
The US president last week claimed he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but in private Tehran representatives say they are not yet obtaining coherent offers from the United States either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been accused of non-responsiveness in the wake of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran asserts dialogue is not part of a performance.
Political Standpoint
In his speech to the gathering, intended to depict the US as a dominant force that exploits the concept of international law, Araghchi stated the 12-day war showed the conflict could not be settled by combat operations. He said the assaults began with a American requirement for an total Iran submission and ended with an unconditional call for a truce.
Iran is certain the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with complete American awareness and coordination, making faith challenging to reestablish.
Diplomacy Remains the Final Answer
Araghchi declared: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned dialogue; it was America and the western countries that had consistently sought to dictate their will during the talks. Dialogue can still be viable and stays the primary resolution to settle conflicts, but its criteria, regulations and tenets must be followed."
"In case they speak to the nation of Iran with the tone of dignity and honor, they will obtain a reply in the identical tone."
Restoration and Rebuilding
In what is described by Tehran representatives as the conflict of restoration and rebuilding, the foreign minister stated he was certain Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been rebuilt. We gained many lessons from this engagement; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the enemy."
He added: "We managed to survive this war. Our nuclear technology, which they planned to eliminate, remains in place. The installations and gear, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they targeted, but were unable to destroy. The Iranian people have become more powerful, more cohesive, and more backing of the administration and the nation in the wake of this attack."