Tehran Declares It May Rejoin US Nuclear Talks if Treated with 'Dignity' and 'Honor'
Tehran is willing to resume atomic talks with the United States on condition that it is treated with "dignity" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has announced.
The Iranian diplomat said only diplomacy was effective, and shared fresh requests had originated from go-betweens to reopen negotiations with the Trump administration. He said Iran had zero secret atomic facilities, and Tehran was not yet able to allow the global atomic watchdog to visit struck enrichment centers for protective measures.
Walking a Challenging Course
The foreign minister is walking a challenging route since Iran wishes not to be seen to be operating from a position of disadvantage, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more powerful defensively and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its nuclear sites in June.
He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material on home soil that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the previous talks.
Previous Talks Abruptly Terminated
The prior phases of talks between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter end on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that ended with the American leader claiming the sites had been eliminated. Afterward, Western states employed their authority to reinstate international penalties, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.
Perfect Agreement Offered
Iranian officials stated they felt they had attained a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was agreed an domestic cooperative with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to claim victory since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be assured that Iran's nuclear programme was entirely non-military.
It had not been agreed in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could work within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Diplomats asserted on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with the US representative the US official only for the deal to collapse due to "detractors in America".
Present Situation
Iranian officials declared the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems quite possible the offer could be reintroduced in some form if negotiations restart.
The American leader in recent days stated he had been getting signals that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Tehran representatives claim they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from the United States either directly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran says negotiations is not part of a show.
Political Standpoint
In his address to the gathering, designed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the notion of international law, the foreign minister stated the two-week conflict demonstrated the conflict could not be resolved by combat operations. He said the assaults started with a US demand for an total Iran submission and culminated with an complete request for a halt to hostilities.
Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were executed with complete American awareness and coordination, making faith hard to reestablish.
Diplomacy Remains the Final Resolution
The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled dialogue; it was America and the European states that had always tried to enforce their demands during the negotiations. Dialogue can still be alive and continues the primary solution to settle conflicts, but its standards, guidelines and principles must be followed."
"In case they speak to the nation of Iran with the language of respect and honor, they will obtain a answer in the same tone."
Restoration and Recovery
In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the struggle of restoration and recovery, Araghchi said he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been restored. We gained multiple understandings from this war; we have discovered our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."
He added: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to destroy, remains in place. The facilities and equipment, if destroyed, will be restored; what is important is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to break. The citizens of Tehran have grown more powerful, more cohesive, and more backing of the administration and the state in the wake of this assault."