Tehran Says It Could Rejoin US Nuclear Negotiations provided that Approached with 'Respect' and 'Honor'
Tehran is willing to restart atomic negotiations with Washington on condition that it is approached with "dignity" and "honor", Tehran's foreign minister has announced.
Abbas Araghchi said solely negotiations was effective, and shared new appeals had come from go-betweens to resume negotiations with the Trump administration. He said Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Tehran was not yet able to permit the UN nuclear inspectorate to access bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.
Walking a Complex Path
The foreign minister is navigating a complex course since Iran wishes not to appear to be operating from a situation of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged more powerful militarily and psychologically from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.
He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the deadlock in the previous talks.
Previous Discussions Suddenly Concluded
The previous five rounds of talks between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and hostile conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with Donald Trump asserting the facilities had been destroyed. Afterward, European countries exercised their right to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a substantial consequence.
Magic Solution Suggested
Iranian officials claimed they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with American involvement could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since domestic enrichment would have continued and the US could be assured that Iran's enrichment initiative was solely for peaceful purposes.
It had not been settled in the talks that US nuclear scientists could work within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Representatives claimed three times they had secured an understanding with the US representative the American negotiator only for the agreement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".
Existing Position
Tehran representatives stated the partnership proposal was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be reintroduced in some form if talks reopen.
The US president recently said he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to restart talks, but confidentially Iran's diplomats 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 the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been accused of passivity in the wake of the US president's straightforward manner, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.
Political Position
In his remarks to the conference, designed to depict the US as a controlling nation that misuses the idea of worldwide standards, Araghchi stated the 12-day war showed the dispute could not be settled by armed force. He asserted the attacks began with a Washington's ultimatum for an total Iran submission and ended with an complete request for a truce.
Iran is assured the first strikes by Israel were carried out with complete American awareness and cooperation, making trust hard to reestablish.
Dialogue Continues the Primary Solution
The foreign minister said: "It was not Iran that had deserted negotiations; it was the United States and the Western nations that had repeatedly sought to enforce their will during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be active and stays the final resolution to resolve disagreements, but its criteria, regulations and fundamentals must be respected."
"In case they address to the Iranian people with the tone of dignity and respect, they will receive a answer in the equivalent tone."
Recovery and Reconstruction
In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the struggle of repair and recovery, Araghchi said he was certain Iran's defence capabilities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We acquired numerous insights from this engagement; we have identified our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."
He stated: "We managed to survive this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to eliminate, remains in place. The installations and machinery, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is essential is the will of the nation of Iran and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but failed to destroy. The Iranian people have developed more resilient, more united, and more supportive of the administration and the state in the aftermath of this attack."