Tehran Says It Could Return to American Nuclear Talks if Approached with 'Respect' and 'Respect'
Tehran is willing to restart atomic discussions with Washington as long as it is handled with "respect" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has declared.
Abbas Araghchi stated solely negotiations produced results, and revealed new appeals had originated from go-betweens to reopen negotiations with the US government. He said Iran possessed no undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the global atomic watchdog to inspect bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.
Walking a Difficult Path
The foreign minister is navigating a challenging course since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be acting from a stance of disadvantage, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more resilient militarily and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.
He was speaking at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the prior discussions.
Previous Talks Abruptly Terminated
The prior phases of discussions between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a fortnight-long engagement that concluded with the American leader declaring the facilities had been destroyed. Following this, Western states used their privilege to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.
Perfect Agreement Suggested
Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had attained a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with US participation could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have remained and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was entirely non-military.
It had not been decided in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could function inside Iran, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Representatives asserted repeatedly they had achieved a deal with Washington's diplomat Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".
Existing Position
Tehran representatives said the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be revived in some form if negotiations resume.
The American leader last week stated he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but in private Iran's diplomats state they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from the United States either straightforwardly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran asserts diplomacy is not part of a show.
Political Standpoint
In his remarks to the conference, designed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of international law, Araghchi declared the 12-day war demonstrated the clash could not be settled by military means. He said the attacks commenced with a American requirement for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an complete request for a truce.
Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were mounted with full US knowledge and coordination, making trust hard to reestablish.
Negotiations Remains the Primary Answer
The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had deserted dialogue; it was the United States and the European states that had always sought to impose their desires during the discussions. Negotiations can still be active and continues the primary resolution to resolve disputes, but its criteria, rules and fundamentals must be adhered to."
"In case they address to the Iranian people with the language of respect and respect, they will obtain a reply in the identical tone."
Repair and Rebuilding
In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the battle of recovery and reconstruction, Araghchi said he was assured Iran's security strengths "have significantly improved than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this war; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the adversary."
He added: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they aimed to destroy, remains in place. The facilities and gear, if destroyed, will be rebuilt; what is important is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they targeted, but did not succeed to shatter. The Iranian people have become stronger, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the leadership and the country in the aftermath of this assault."