🔗 Share this article

Tehran is prepared to reinitiate atomic discussions with the United States provided that it is treated with "respect" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has stated.

Abbas Araghchi declared solely negotiations was effective, and shared recent overtures had originated from mediators to restart negotiations with the American leadership. He asserted Iran did not have unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Navigating a Difficult Path

Araghchi is walking a complex route since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be proceeding from a stance of weakness, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged more powerful in military terms and emotionally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was addressing at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material within its borders that it will never give up" – the main reason of the impasse in the prior discussions.

Previous Negotiations Unexpectedly Ended

The earlier sessions of talks between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that concluded with the US president asserting the sites had been obliterated. Subsequently, European countries exercised their privilege to reinstate international penalties, but Iran insists they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Offered

Iran's diplomats said they felt they had attained a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with American involvement 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 assured that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the talks that US nuclear scientists could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Representatives stated repeatedly they had achieved a deal with Trump's special envoy the American negotiator only for the deal to collapse due to "detractors in America".

Existing Status

Tehran representatives declared the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems very probable the offer could be revived in various formats if discussions resume.

Trump in recent days claimed he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but confidentially Iran's diplomats say they are not yet receiving clear proposals from Washington either straightforwardly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran says negotiations is not part of a performance.

Diplomatic Stance

In his remarks to the conference, aimed to depict the US as a dominant force that exploits the notion of global regulations, the foreign minister declared the fortnight-long engagement showed the clash could not be resolved by armed force. He stated the attacks started with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and concluded with an complete request for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is assured the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with full US knowledge and coordination, making trust difficult to rebuild.

Negotiations Continues the Final Resolution

Araghchi said: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned dialogue; it was the United States and the western countries that had repeatedly sought to dictate their demands during the talks. Negotiations can still be viable and stays the primary answer to resolve disputes, but its standards, rules and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"If they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the tone of dignity and respect, they will get a reply in the equivalent approach."

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the battle of repair and rebuilding, Araghchi stated he was confident Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We gained many lessons from this engagement; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."

He stated: "We successfully passed this war. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to obliterate, stays intact. The sites and gear, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is important is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but were unable to break. The nation of Iran have developed more resilient, more integrated, and more backing of the government and the state in the face of this assault."