Iran States It May Return to American Atomic Negotiations if Approached with 'Dignity' and 'Respect'
Iran is prepared to reinitiate atomic negotiations with the United States provided that it is approached with "respect" and "respect", Tehran's top diplomat has announced.
Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy produced results, and revealed recent overtures had originated from intermediaries to resume negotiations with the US government. He said Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.
Walking a Difficult Course
The foreign minister is treading a difficult path since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be acting from a position of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out stronger in military terms and psychologically from the joint assault on its atomic facilities in June.
He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the prior discussions.
Prior Negotiations Suddenly Terminated
The previous five rounds of negotiations between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and bitter end on 12 June when Israel, with US support, struck Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with the US president claiming the facilities had been destroyed. Following this, EU nations used their right to reinstate UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.
Ideal Resolution Offered
Iranian officials claimed they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the enrichment issue in prior discussions, when it was settled an local partnership with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since local refinement would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.
It had not been settled in the talks that American atomic experts could operate inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Officials stated three times they had reached agreement with Washington's diplomat Steve Witkoff only for the agreement to disintegrate due to "detractors in America".
Existing Status
Iranian officials said the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the offer could be revived in some form if discussions resume.
Trump in recent days stated he had been getting signals that Iran desired to restart talks, but in private Tehran representatives claim they are not yet receiving clear proposals from the United States either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department 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.
Negotiating Standpoint
In his remarks to the gathering, intended to paint the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the notion of worldwide standards, Araghchi declared the 12-day war demonstrated the clash could not be ended by combat operations. He said the strikes commenced with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and concluded with an complete request for a truce.
Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with complete American awareness and collaboration, making faith difficult to reestablish.
Dialogue Continues the Ultimate Solution
The foreign minister stated: "Tehran was not the one that had fled negotiations; it was the United States and the European states that had always attempted to impose their will during the talks. Diplomacy can still be active and stays the final resolution to settle disputes, but its requirements, rules and principles must be adhered to."
"In case they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the language of respect and honor, they will get a reply in the identical approach."
Repair and Recovery
In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the battle of recovery and reconstruction, the foreign minister stated he was assured Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been rebuilt. We gained multiple understandings from this war; we have identified our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the enemy."
He stated: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to eliminate, stays intact. The sites and machinery, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is important is the will of the nation of Iran and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to shatter. The nation of Iran have developed more powerful, more cohesive, and more backing of the leadership and the state in the aftermath of this invasion."