🔗 Share this article

Tehran is ready to restart atomic negotiations with Washington as long as it is approached with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's top diplomat has declared.

The Iranian diplomat said exclusively dialogue worked, and shared new appeals had been made by intermediaries to restart talks with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran was not yet able to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.

Navigating a Difficult Route

The foreign minister is treading a difficult route since Iran wishes not to be seen to be proceeding from a stance of disadvantage, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen more resilient defensively and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was talking at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material on home soil that it will always maintain" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the prior discussions.

Prior Discussions Abruptly Terminated

The previous five rounds of discussions between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that ended with the US president asserting the facilities had been destroyed. Following this, European countries used their right to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran insists they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Offered

Iranian officials said they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with Washington's engagement could refine atomic fuel. The two nations would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the talks that US nuclear scientists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Officials claimed repeatedly they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy the American negotiator only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Current Situation

Iranian officials said the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems highly likely the offer could be reintroduced in certain ways if discussions reopen.

The US president recently claimed he had been getting signals that Iran desired to restart talks, but privately Iran's diplomats state they are not yet obtaining clear proposals from America either straightforwardly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been criticized of passivity in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran states dialogue is not part of a performance.

Diplomatic Stance

In his address to the gathering, aimed to paint the US as a dominant force that exploits the notion of global regulations, the foreign minister said the two-week conflict demonstrated the conflict could not be resolved by military means. He asserted the assaults began with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is certain the first strikes by Israel were carried out with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making trust difficult to rebuild.

Negotiations Remains the Primary Solution

Araghchi declared: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned dialogue; it was the United States and the western countries that had repeatedly sought to impose their demands during the negotiations. Diplomacy can still be viable and remains the primary resolution to settle disagreements, but its requirements, regulations and fundamentals must be followed."

"Provided that they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the tone of respect and honor, they will get a response in the same approach."

Repair and Recovery

In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the battle of recovery and reconstruction, Araghchi said he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We gained many lessons from this war; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the adversary."

He stated: "We effectively endured this conflict. Our enrichment knowledge, which they intended to eliminate, continues to exist. The installations and machinery, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the resolve of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to destroy. The nation of Iran have become stronger, more cohesive, and more backing of the government and the nation in the aftermath of this assault."