🔗 Share this article

Iran is ready to restart nuclear negotiations with Washington as long as it is handled with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's top diplomat has announced.

Abbas Araghchi declared only diplomacy worked, and shared new appeals had originated from mediators to reopen talks with the US government. He claimed Iran did not have undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran could not yet authorize the global atomic watchdog to inspect attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Navigating a Difficult Course

The foreign minister is walking a difficult path since Iran wishes not to be seen to be proceeding from a stance of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged more powerful militarily and psychologically from the coordinated strike on its nuclear sites in June.

He was talking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to enrich uranium on home soil that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Discussions Suddenly Terminated

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that culminated with the American leader asserting the sites had been obliterated. Subsequently, EU nations used their privilege to restore global restrictions, but Iran maintains they have not had a substantial consequence.

Perfect Agreement Offered

Tehran representatives stated they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an domestic cooperative with American involvement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to claim victory since local refinement would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was entirely non-military.

It had not been decided in the negotiations that Washington's technical specialists could function inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Officials stated repeatedly they had reached agreement with Trump's special envoy the American negotiator only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Present Situation

Tehran representatives said the cooperative arrangement was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be reintroduced in some form if discussions reopen.

The American leader in recent days claimed he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but privately Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet obtaining coherent offers from the United States either straightforwardly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been accused of non-responsiveness in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Tehran says dialogue is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Position

In his remarks to the forum, aimed to portray the US as a controlling nation that exploits the concept of worldwide standards, Araghchi declared the 12-day war showed the clash could not be resolved by combat operations. He stated the strikes began with a US demand for an total Iran submission and culminated with an absolute demand for a ceasefire.

Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were executed with full US knowledge and collaboration, making faith challenging to restore.

Dialogue Stays the Primary Resolution

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had abandoned dialogue; it was the United States and the western countries that had consistently sought to enforce their desires during the discussions. Negotiations can still be viable and remains the ultimate solution to resolve conflicts, but its standards, rules and tenets must be followed."

"Provided that they speak to the Iranian people with the language of dignity and respect, they will obtain a reply in the identical tone."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is described by Tehran representatives as the battle of repair and reconstruction, Araghchi claimed he was confident Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been rebuilt. We acquired multiple understandings from this war; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the adversary."

He continued: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to obliterate, remains in place. The facilities and gear, if eliminated, will be reconstructed; what is important is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to break. The Iranian people have become more powerful, more integrated, and more endorsing of the leadership and the country in the wake of this assault."