🔗 Share this article

Tehran is prepared to restart atomic discussions with the United States on condition that it is handled with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's foreign minister has stated.

Abbas Araghchi said solely negotiations was effective, and disclosed new appeals had originated from intermediaries to reopen talks with the American leadership. He claimed Iran possessed no secret atomic facilities, and Iran could not yet authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Navigating a Challenging Path

The foreign minister is walking a challenging route since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be proceeding from a position of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out more powerful defensively and psychologically from the coordinated strike on its enrichment centers in June.

He was talking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material on home soil that it will never give up" – the main reason of the stalemate in the prior discussions.

Previous Discussions Suddenly Terminated

The earlier sessions of discussions between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter end on 12 June when Israel, with US support, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that culminated with the American leader claiming the facilities had been obliterated. Following this, Western states used their privilege to reinstate global restrictions, but Iran maintains they have not had a substantial consequence.

Perfect Agreement Offered

Iranian officials claimed they felt they had achieved a "perfect agreement" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was agreed an local partnership with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be assured that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the negotiations that American atomic experts could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Officials asserted on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with the US representative the American negotiator only for the deal to disintegrate due to "detractors in America".

Existing Status

Tehran representatives declared the consortium offer was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be resurrected in various formats if discussions restart.

The US president last week said he had been obtaining communications that Iran desired to restart talks, but confidentially Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from the United States either explicitly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran asserts negotiations is not part of a show.

Diplomatic Position

In his remarks to the conference, intended to paint the US as a controlling nation that exploits the idea of global regulations, the foreign minister declared the two-week conflict showed the conflict could not be ended by combat operations. He said the attacks commenced with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an complete request for a truce.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were executed with complete American awareness and coordination, making confidence difficult to restore.

Dialogue Stays the Ultimate Answer

The foreign minister said: "It was not Iran that had deserted negotiations; it was the United States and the Western nations that had consistently attempted to impose their desires during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be active and stays the primary resolution to resolve conflicts, but its requirements, rules and tenets must be adhered to."

"If they speak to the nation of Iran with the language of respect and honor, they will get a response in the equivalent language."

Restoration and Recovery

In what is characterized by Iran's diplomats as the conflict of recovery and rebuilding, Araghchi claimed he was confident Iran's security strengths "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been restored. We acquired numerous insights from this war; we have identified our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."

He continued: "We managed to survive this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to obliterate, continues to exist. The facilities and gear, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is crucial is the will of the Iranian people and then the national cohesion that they targeted, but did not succeed to break. The nation of Iran have developed more resilient, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the government and the nation in the aftermath of this attack."