Tehran States It Could Rejoin American Atomic Negotiations if Treated with 'Respect' and 'Honor'
Tehran is willing to reinitiate atomic discussions with Washington as long as it is approached with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has announced.
Abbas Araghchi declared exclusively dialogue was effective, and revealed recent overtures had been made by intermediaries to restart discussions with the US government. He asserted Iran did not have undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran could not yet permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect struck enrichment centers for security reasons.
Walking a Difficult Path
The foreign minister is treading a complex course since Iran aims to avoid appear to be acting from a stance of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had come out more powerful in military terms and mentally from the coordinated strike on its enrichment centers in June.
He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to enrich uranium within its borders that it will never give up" – the main reason of the impasse in the prior discussions.
Previous Talks Abruptly Ended
The previous five rounds of talks between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that ended with the American leader asserting the sites had been eliminated. Subsequently, European countries used their right to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a substantial consequence.
Magic Solution Suggested
Iranian officials claimed they felt they had achieved a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in previous talks, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with Washington's engagement could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to claim victory since local refinement would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's atomic project was entirely non-military.
It had not been agreed in the talks that US nuclear scientists could work inside Iran, but that was a reasonable assumption of the consortium proposal. Diplomats stated on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with the US representative the American negotiator only for the deal to collapse due to "detractors in America".
Current Situation
Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now withdrawn, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be resurrected in certain ways if discussions reopen.
Trump in recent days claimed he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but privately Tehran representatives claim they are not yet obtaining coherent offers from America either explicitly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been charged of passivity in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Iran says dialogue is not part of a spectacle.
Negotiating Position
In his remarks to the conference, intended to depict the US as a controlling nation that abuses the concept of worldwide standards, the foreign minister declared the two-week conflict showed the conflict could not be ended by armed force. He said the attacks started with a US demand for an total Iran submission and culminated with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.
Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with total Washington understanding and coordination, making faith difficult to rebuild.
Dialogue Continues the Primary Solution
The foreign minister stated: "It was not Iran that had fled dialogue; it was the United States and the Western nations that had always sought to enforce their will during the talks. Diplomacy can still be active and continues the final solution to settle disputes, but its criteria, guidelines and fundamentals must be followed."
"Provided that they talk to the nation of Iran with the language of respect and honor, they will obtain a reply in the same tone."
Repair and Rebuilding
In what is characterized by Iran's diplomats as the battle of repair and rebuilding, Araghchi stated he was confident Iran's military capacities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We gained multiple understandings from this war; we have identified our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the adversary."
He continued: "We managed to survive this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to destroy, continues to exist. The facilities and gear, if eliminated, will be restored; what is important is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but failed to destroy. The nation of Iran have become more powerful, more united, and more backing of the administration and the nation in the wake of this attack."