Tehran Declares It Might Resume American Atomic Discussions provided that Approached with 'Respect' and 'Respect'
Tehran is prepared to resume nuclear talks with Washington on condition that it is approached with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's foreign minister has declared.
Abbas Araghchi said solely negotiations produced results, and revealed fresh requests had been made by mediators to reopen talks with the American leadership. He claimed Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect struck enrichment centers for security reasons.
Navigating a Complex Path
Araghchi is treading a challenging path since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be proceeding from a situation of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more resilient defensively and psychologically from the joint assault on its nuclear sites in June.
He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material on home soil that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the impasse in the prior discussions.
Prior Talks Suddenly Terminated
The earlier sessions of discussions between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious end on 12 June when Israel, with US support, struck Tehran's atomic facilities in a fortnight-long engagement that concluded with the US president claiming the facilities had been destroyed. Following this, Western states used their right to restore global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.
Magic Solution Suggested
Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had achieved a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in previous talks, when it was agreed an local partnership with US participation could enrich uranium. Both sides would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have persisted and the US could be assured that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.
It had not been decided in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could operate inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Diplomats asserted on multiple occasions they had achieved a deal with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to collapse due to "detractors in America".
Current Position
Iranian officials said the consortium offer was now no longer available, but it seems very probable the offer could be resurrected in various formats if discussions reopen.
The US president last week claimed he had been getting signals that Iran desired to resume discussions, but confidentially Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet getting clear proposals from the United States either straightforwardly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been charged of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran asserts dialogue is not part of a performance.
Diplomatic Stance
In his address to the gathering, aimed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of global regulations, Araghchi declared the 12-day war demonstrated the dispute could not be ended by military means. He stated the assaults started with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an complete request for a halt to hostilities.
Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were mounted with total Washington understanding and coordination, making faith challenging to reestablish.
Negotiations Remains the Final Resolution
Araghchi said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the European states that had consistently attempted to dictate their will during the negotiations. Dialogue can still be viable and stays the final solution to address disputes, but its standards, guidelines and tenets must be followed."
"If they talk to the citizens of Tehran with the language of respect and respect, they will obtain a response in the same approach."
Repair and Rebuilding
In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the struggle of restoration and rebuilding, the foreign minister stated he was confident Iran's security strengths "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this war; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."
He stated: "We managed to survive this conflict. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to destroy, continues to exist. The installations and equipment, if destroyed, will be rebuilt; what is crucial is the will of the nation of Iran and then the social solidarity that they targeted, but failed to break. The citizens of Tehran have grown more powerful, more cohesive, and more backing of the administration and the nation in the face of this invasion."