Iran Declares It May Rejoin American Nuclear Negotiations if Approached with 'Dignity' and 'Honor'
Tehran is prepared to resume atomic negotiations with Washington provided that it is treated with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has announced.
Abbas Araghchi declared only diplomacy worked, and revealed recent overtures had originated from mediators to resume negotiations with the American leadership. He asserted Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to authorize the global atomic watchdog to inspect bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.
Walking a Difficult Course
Araghchi is treading a difficult route since Iran wishes not to appear to be proceeding from a stance of disadvantage, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged more powerful defensively and psychologically from the coordinated strike on its enrichment centers in June.
He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material on home soil that it will perpetually retain" – the main reason of the stalemate in the prior discussions.
Previous Discussions Abruptly Ended
The earlier sessions of discussions between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that concluded with the American leader asserting the locations had been obliterated. Afterward, Western states exercised their authority to reinstate global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.
Ideal Resolution Proposed
Iranian officials claimed they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with US participation could process nuclear material. Both sides would have been able to assert triumph since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's nuclear programme was entirely non-military.
It had not been decided in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Diplomats stated repeatedly they had achieved a deal with Trump's special envoy the American negotiator only for the agreement to fall apart due to "detractors in America".
Existing Situation
Iranian officials stated the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems quite possible the offer could be reintroduced in certain ways if talks restart.
The American leader recently claimed he had been receiving messages that Iran sought to restart talks, but in private Iranian officials claim they are not yet getting coherent offers from America either straightforwardly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been criticized of passivity in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Iran says dialogue is not part of a performance.
Diplomatic Standpoint
In his remarks to the forum, designed to paint the US as a dominant force that exploits the concept of international law, Araghchi said the 12-day war revealed the conflict could not be resolved by armed force. He stated the assaults began with a Washington's ultimatum for an total Iran submission and culminated with an absolute demand for a truce.
Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with full US knowledge and cooperation, making trust challenging to rebuild.
Negotiations Stays the Final Solution
The foreign minister declared: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned diplomacy; it was America and the western countries that had always sought to enforce their demands during the discussions. Negotiations can still be viable and continues the ultimate answer to resolve conflicts, but its criteria, regulations and tenets must be adhered to."
"In case they speak to the Iranian people with the language of respect and honor, they will receive a reply in the same language."
Restoration and Recovery
In what is characterized by Iranian officials as the conflict of restoration and reconstruction, Araghchi said he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been restored. We gained numerous insights from this war; we have discovered our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the opponent."
He stated: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to destroy, remains in place. The sites and gear, if eliminated, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the will of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they aimed at, but were unable to break. The nation of Iran have grown more resilient, more integrated, and more backing of the administration and the country in the wake of this attack."