Iran Declares It Might Return to American Atomic Negotiations if Handled with 'Dignity' and 'Honor'

Tehran is willing to reinitiate atomic discussions with Washington as long as it is treated with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has declared.

The Iranian diplomat said solely negotiations worked, and revealed fresh requests had come from intermediaries to restart discussions with the US government. He claimed Iran possessed no secret atomic facilities, and Iran was not yet able to permit the global atomic watchdog to inspect bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Navigating a Complex Path

Araghchi is treading a challenging route since Iran does not want appear to be proceeding from a situation of disadvantage, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had come out more resilient militarily and psychologically from the joint assault on its atomic facilities in June.

He was addressing at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an inalienable right to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the impasse in the prior discussions.

Previous Talks Abruptly Ended

The earlier sessions of discussions between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, targeted Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that concluded with the US president declaring the facilities had been destroyed. Subsequently, EU nations employed their privilege to reimpose international penalties, but Iran insists they have not had a major impact.

Magic Solution Proposed

Iranian officials said they felt they had achieved a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in previous talks, when it was agreed an local partnership with American involvement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could operate inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Diplomats stated three times they had secured an understanding with the US representative the American negotiator only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Present Status

Tehran representatives declared the cooperative arrangement was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be reintroduced in some form if negotiations reopen.

Trump recently said he had been receiving messages that Iran sought to resume discussions, but in private Iranian officials claim they are not yet obtaining coherent offers from Washington 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 passivity in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran asserts diplomacy is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Position

In his remarks to the forum, designed to depict the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the concept of global regulations, Araghchi stated the two-week conflict demonstrated the dispute could not be resolved by armed force. He said the attacks began with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with full US knowledge and coordination, making faith difficult to reestablish.

Diplomacy Continues the Primary Resolution

The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had fled dialogue; it was America and the Western nations that had consistently sought to enforce their will during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be alive and continues the primary answer to resolve disputes, but its criteria, guidelines and principles must be adhered to."

"Provided that they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the approach of dignity and respect, they will get a reply in the same language."

Restoration and Reconstruction

In what is described by Tehran representatives as the struggle of restoration and rebuilding, the foreign minister stated he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We acquired numerous insights from this conflict; we have discovered our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the enemy."

He continued: "We effectively endured this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they intended to obliterate, remains in place. The installations and equipment, if eliminated, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the unity of the country that they targeted, but were unable to destroy. The citizens of Tehran have developed more resilient, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the government and the country in the aftermath of this assault."