🔗 Share this article

Tehran is prepared to restart atomic discussions with Washington provided that it is treated with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has announced.

The Iranian diplomat said exclusively dialogue was effective, and disclosed new appeals had been made by intermediaries to restart discussions with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran possessed no secret atomic facilities, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to allow the global atomic watchdog to inspect struck enrichment centers for safety concerns.

Walking a Challenging Route

Araghchi is walking a difficult path since Iran wishes not to be perceived to be proceeding from a situation of disadvantage, and he consistently maintained that Iran had arisen more powerful defensively and emotionally from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was talking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an inalienable right to enrich uranium domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the main reason of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Previous Negotiations Suddenly Terminated

The prior phases of talks between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and hostile termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, targeted Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with the US president claiming the sites had been obliterated. Subsequently, Western states used their authority to reinstate global restrictions, but Iran insists they have not had a major impact.

Magic Solution Offered

Tehran representatives said they felt they had attained a "magic solution" to the nuclear fuel concern in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with Washington's engagement could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was entirely non-military.

It had not been decided in the negotiations that Washington's technical specialists could work inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Representatives claimed three times they had achieved a deal with the US representative the American negotiator only for the arrangement to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".

Existing Situation

Iranian officials said the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be revived in certain ways if negotiations restart.

The US president in recent days said he had been getting signals that Iran sought to resume discussions, but in private Iranian officials state they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from Washington either straightforwardly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran asserts diplomacy is not part of a performance.

Political Position

In his remarks to the conference, aimed to portray the US as a dominant force that exploits the notion of international law, the foreign minister said the 12-day war demonstrated the clash could not be ended by combat operations. He asserted the assaults commenced with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an complete request for a ceasefire.

Iran is certain the first strikes by Israel were carried out with full US knowledge and cooperation, making confidence challenging to rebuild.

Diplomacy Continues the Final Answer

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned dialogue; it was the United States and the Western nations that had repeatedly tried to enforce their demands during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be viable and stays the ultimate answer to settle disagreements, but its requirements, regulations and principles must be respected."

"If they speak to the Iranian people with the language of dignity and respect, they will obtain a reply in the identical tone."

Recovery and Rebuilding

In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the battle of recovery and reconstruction, the foreign minister stated he was certain Iran's military capacities "have significantly improved than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We acquired many lessons from this conflict; we have discovered our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."

He stated: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to destroy, remains in place. The sites and gear, if damaged, will be restored; what is important is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they targeted, but failed to destroy. The citizens of Tehran have developed more powerful, more integrated, and more endorsing of the administration and the country in the wake of this invasion."