🔗 Share this article

Iran is willing to restart nuclear negotiations with the United States as long as it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has stated.

The Iranian diplomat stated only diplomacy was effective, and disclosed recent overtures had come from go-betweens to restart talks with the American leadership. He said Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the global atomic watchdog to visit struck enrichment centers for security reasons.

Walking a Difficult Course

Araghchi is navigating a challenging course since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be acting from a stance of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had arisen stronger defensively and emotionally from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to refine atomic fuel on home soil that it will never give up" – the main reason of the deadlock in the previous talks.

Earlier Talks Abruptly Ended

The earlier sessions of negotiations between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, targeted Iranian nuclear sites in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the American leader declaring the locations had been eliminated. Afterward, Western states used their right to reinstate international penalties, but Iran maintains they have not had a substantial consequence.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an Iran-based consortium with US participation could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to assert triumph since local refinement would have continued and the US could be assured that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been decided in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could work within Iranian territory, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Representatives claimed three times they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy the American negotiator only for the deal to collapse due to "detractors in America".

Present Status

Iranian officials said the partnership proposal was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the offer could be reintroduced in various formats if discussions reopen.

Trump in recent days said he had been getting signals that Iran desired to reopen negotiations, but privately Tehran representatives state they are not yet receiving coherent offers from Washington either explicitly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran asserts negotiations is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Position

In his speech to the gathering, aimed to paint the US as a controlling nation that abuses the concept of worldwide standards, the foreign minister stated the 12-day war showed the dispute could not be resolved by armed force. He stated the strikes started with a US demand for an complete Tehran capitulation and concluded with an complete request for a ceasefire.

Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with complete American awareness and collaboration, making faith difficult to reestablish.

Diplomacy Remains the Final Answer

The foreign minister declared: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned dialogue; it was America and the European states that had always tried to enforce their will during the talks. Dialogue can still be viable and remains the final answer to resolve disagreements, but its criteria, guidelines and principles must be adhered to."

"If they talk to the nation of Iran with the tone of dignity and honor, they will receive a answer in the equivalent language."

Repair and Recovery

In what is characterized by Iranian officials as the struggle of repair and recovery, the foreign minister stated he was confident Iran's security strengths "are considerably enhanced than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been rebuilt. We learned many lessons from this engagement; we have come to know our personal limitations and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."

He continued: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our atomic expertise, which they planned to destroy, stays intact. The facilities and gear, if damaged, will be restored; what is crucial is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they targeted, but did not succeed to shatter. The Iranian people have grown more powerful, more united, and more backing of the administration and the country in the face of this attack."