🔗 Share this article

Iran is willing to reinitiate atomic negotiations with Washington on condition that it is approached with "dignity" and "honor", Tehran's foreign minister has stated.

The Iranian diplomat said solely negotiations worked, and revealed fresh requests had come from intermediaries to restart discussions with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran was not yet able to authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to access attacked atomic facilities for protective measures.

Navigating a Complex Course

The foreign minister is walking a difficult path since Iran does not want appear to be operating from a stance of weakness, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged more powerful in military terms and mentally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was talking at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the prior discussions.

Previous Talks Unexpectedly Ended

The previous five rounds of discussions between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and hostile termination on 12 June when Israel, with US support, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with Donald Trump asserting the locations had been destroyed. Subsequently, Western states exercised their right to restore global restrictions, but Iran insists they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Offered

Tehran representatives claimed they felt they had attained a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since domestic enrichment would have persisted and the US could be confident that Iran's atomic project was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been settled in the talks that American atomic experts could function on Iranian soil, but that was a reasonable assumption of the partnership suggestion. Officials asserted three times they had secured an understanding with the US representative the American negotiator only for the deal to fall apart due to "detractors in America".

Current Position

Iran's diplomats said the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be resurrected in some form if talks resume.

The American leader in recent days stated he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to restart talks, but in private Iran's diplomats say they are not yet receiving coherent offers from the United States either directly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Stance

In his remarks to the conference, designed to depict the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the concept of international law, the foreign minister said the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the dispute could not be ended by military means. He stated the attacks started with a US demand for an total Iran submission and ended with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is assured the first strikes by Israel were carried out with complete American awareness and coordination, making confidence difficult to rebuild.

Dialogue Remains the Final Resolution

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the western countries that had repeatedly tried to impose their demands during the negotiations. Diplomacy can still be active and remains the primary solution to settle disputes, but its standards, guidelines and principles must be adhered to."

"Provided that they address to the citizens of Tehran with the language 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 conflict of restoration and reconstruction, Araghchi 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 reestablished. We gained numerous insights from this war; we have come to know our personal limitations and the shortcomings of the opponent."

He added: "We effectively endured this conflict. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to obliterate, remains in place. The sites and gear, if eliminated, will be restored; what is important is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but failed to destroy. The citizens of Tehran have become more powerful, more cohesive, and more backing of the leadership and the country in the wake of this attack."