Iran States It Might Rejoin American Atomic Talks if Treated with 'Dignity' and 'Honor'
Iran is ready to resume atomic discussions with the United States as long as it is approached with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has announced.
Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy worked, and shared new appeals had been made by go-betweens to restart discussions with the US government. He claimed Iran possessed no undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran was not yet able to permit the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.
Walking a Complex Course
Araghchi is treading a complex route since Iran wishes not to be perceived to be proceeding from a position of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged more resilient militarily and emotionally from the coordinated strike on its nuclear sites in June.
He was speaking at a security conference in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material within its borders that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the deadlock in the prior discussions.
Prior Talks Suddenly Ended
The prior phases of discussions between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, struck Tehran's atomic facilities in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with the US president claiming the sites had been obliterated. Afterward, European countries employed their privilege to reimpose international penalties, but Iran insists they have not had a major impact.
Ideal Resolution Offered
Tehran representatives stated they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with Washington's engagement could refine atomic fuel. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since domestic enrichment would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.
It had not been decided in the talks that American atomic experts could work inside Iran, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Representatives claimed repeatedly they had achieved a deal with Washington's diplomat Steve Witkoff only for the deal to fall apart due to "detractors in America".
Existing Situation
Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now withdrawn, but it seems highly likely the offer could be revived in certain ways if discussions reopen.
Trump last week stated he had been obtaining communications that Iran desired to resume discussions, but privately Tehran representatives say they are not yet getting coherent offers from the United States either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been charged of passivity in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran asserts dialogue is not part of a performance.
Diplomatic Standpoint
In his speech to the gathering, intended to depict the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the notion of international law, the foreign minister said the two-week conflict demonstrated the dispute could not be ended by combat operations. He said the strikes began with a American requirement for an complete Tehran capitulation and culminated with an unconditional call for a truce.
Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were executed with total Washington understanding and collaboration, making trust difficult to rebuild.
Dialogue Remains the Ultimate Answer
The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had fled diplomacy; it was America and the European states that had always sought to impose their desires during the negotiations. Diplomacy can still be active and continues the final answer to settle disagreements, but its standards, rules and principles must be adhered to."
"If they address to the Iranian people with the approach of dignity and respect, they will get a answer in the same language."
Restoration and Reconstruction
In what is characterized by Tehran representatives as the battle of restoration and reconstruction, the foreign minister said he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are considerably enhanced than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been rebuilt. We gained many lessons from this war; we have identified our personal limitations and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."
He continued: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they planned to obliterate, stays intact. The sites and machinery, if destroyed, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the will of the citizens of Tehran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to break. The Iranian people have developed stronger, more united, and more backing of the government and the state in the face of this attack."