Iran Declares It Could Resume US Atomic Discussions provided that Treated with 'Dignity' and 'Respect'
Tehran is willing to restart atomic talks with the United States on condition that it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has announced.
Abbas Araghchi declared exclusively dialogue produced results, and revealed recent overtures had been made by go-betweens to restart talks with the American leadership. He claimed Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran could not yet allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to access struck enrichment centers for protective measures.
Walking a Difficult Course
Araghchi is navigating a complex course since Iran aims to avoid appear to be proceeding from a situation of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged more powerful in military terms and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.
He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material on home soil that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.
Earlier Discussions Unexpectedly Terminated
The prior phases of talks between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and hostile end on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the US president asserting the sites had been eliminated. Subsequently, EU nations exercised their right to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.
Perfect Agreement Offered
Iranian officials claimed they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium 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 confident that Iran's enrichment initiative was entirely non-military.
It had not been decided in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could function inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Representatives asserted three times they had secured an understanding with the US representative the American negotiator only for the deal to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".
Existing Status
Tehran representatives said the partnership proposal was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the offer could be resurrected in some form if talks reopen.
The US president last week stated he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but privately Iran's diplomats say they are not yet obtaining consistent overtures from America either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been accused of passivity in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran says dialogue is not part of a spectacle.
Diplomatic Standpoint
In his remarks to the gathering, designed to depict the US as a dominant force that exploits the notion of global regulations, Araghchi declared the two-week conflict demonstrated the conflict could not be resolved by combat operations. He asserted the attacks started with a US demand for an total Iran submission and culminated with an complete request for a halt to hostilities.
Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with complete American awareness and cooperation, making trust hard to restore.
Diplomacy Stays the Final Resolution
The foreign minister stated: "It was not Iran that had deserted negotiations; it was America and the western countries that had always sought to enforce their will during the talks. Dialogue can still be alive and stays the ultimate solution to address disagreements, but its standards, regulations and principles must be respected."
"If they speak to the nation of Iran with the approach of dignity and respect, they will receive a reply in the equivalent tone."
Recovery and Rebuilding
In what is described by Iranian officials as the struggle of repair and recovery, Araghchi stated he was certain Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We learned numerous insights from this conflict; we have identified our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."
He stated: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to destroy, stays intact. The facilities and equipment, if eliminated, will be restored; what is important is the will of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they aimed at, but were unable to destroy. The nation of Iran have become stronger, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the administration and the state in the aftermath of this assault."