Iran States It Might Rejoin American Nuclear Talks if Treated with 'Dignity' and 'Honor'
Tehran is ready to resume atomic negotiations with the United States on condition that it is treated with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's top diplomat has stated.
Abbas Araghchi declared only diplomacy produced results, and shared recent overtures had originated from intermediaries to restart talks with the Trump administration. He said Iran possessed no secret atomic facilities, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit bombed nuclear sites for protective measures.
Walking a Challenging Course
Araghchi is navigating a difficult course since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be operating from a position of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had come out more resilient defensively and mentally from the joint assault on its nuclear sites in June.
He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will never give up" β the primary cause of the impasse in the prior discussions.
Prior Talks Suddenly Terminated
The previous five rounds of discussions between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and hostile end on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with Donald Trump asserting the locations had been obliterated. Afterward, Western states exercised their right to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.
Perfect Agreement Offered
Tehran representatives said they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with US participation could refine atomic fuel. The two nations would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have continued and the US could be confident that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.
It had not been decided in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could work inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Officials asserted on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with Trump's special envoy the US official only for the agreement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".
Present Position
Tehran representatives stated the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems very probable the suggestion could be reintroduced in certain ways if discussions reopen.
Trump recently said he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Iran's diplomats say they are not yet receiving coherent offers from Washington either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of inactivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran asserts diplomacy is not part of a performance.
Political Stance
In his address to the gathering, designed to paint the US as a controlling nation that exploits the idea of global regulations, the foreign minister declared the fortnight-long engagement showed the conflict could not be resolved by armed force. He asserted the assaults started with a Washington's ultimatum for an total Iran submission and ended with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.
Iran is assured the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making confidence challenging to rebuild.
Negotiations Remains the Primary Answer
Araghchi said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled negotiations; it was America and the Western nations that had repeatedly sought to impose their demands during the talks. Diplomacy can still be active and remains the ultimate solution to resolve conflicts, but its requirements, guidelines and principles must be respected."
"If they talk to the Iranian people with the tone of dignity and honor, they will receive a response in the identical approach."
Restoration and Recovery
In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the struggle of restoration and rebuilding, the foreign minister stated he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are considerably enhanced than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We acquired numerous insights from this war; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."
He stated: "We effectively endured this war. Our atomic expertise, which they intended to obliterate, remains in place. The facilities and machinery, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the will of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to break. The nation of Iran have grown more resilient, more cohesive, and more supportive of the administration and the nation in the aftermath of this attack."