🔗 Share this article

Iran is prepared to restart nuclear discussions with the United States provided that it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has declared.

Abbas Araghchi stated only diplomacy worked, and disclosed fresh requests had been made by mediators to resume discussions with the US government. He claimed Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Iran had not yet reached a point to authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit bombed nuclear sites for protective measures.

Navigating a Complex Route

Araghchi is walking a challenging course since Iran does not want appear to be operating from a position of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more powerful defensively and mentally from the joint assault on its nuclear sites in June.

He was talking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to refine atomic fuel within its borders that it will always maintain" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the previous talks.

Earlier Talks Suddenly Terminated

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and hostile termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, targeted Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that ended with the US president declaring the locations had been eliminated. Subsequently, EU nations employed their authority to reinstate UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a substantial consequence.

Ideal Resolution Offered

Tehran representatives said they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Both sides would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been decided in the negotiations that American atomic experts could function within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Representatives asserted three times they had achieved a deal with the US representative the American negotiator only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Current Situation

Iranian officials declared the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems very probable the suggestion could be resurrected in various formats if negotiations restart.

The US president in recent days stated he had been receiving messages that Iran desired to resume discussions, but in private Iran's diplomats state they are not yet getting coherent offers from the United States either explicitly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of inactivity in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran says dialogue is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Position

In his speech to the conference, aimed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the idea of international law, the foreign minister said the 12-day war showed the dispute could not be resolved by combat operations. He stated the attacks commenced with a US demand for an total Iran submission and ended with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making trust hard to reestablish.

Diplomacy Continues the Final Answer

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had deserted diplomacy; it was the United States and the western countries that had repeatedly attempted to enforce their will during the discussions. Negotiations can still be active and stays the ultimate solution to address conflicts, but its criteria, guidelines and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"In case they talk to the nation of Iran with the language of dignity and honor, they will get a reply in the same language."

Restoration and Recovery

In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the battle of restoration and recovery, Araghchi said he was confident Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We acquired many lessons from this conflict; we have identified our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."

He added: "We effectively endured this war. Our atomic expertise, which they intended to destroy, stays intact. The sites and gear, if destroyed, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but were unable to shatter. The Iranian people have grown more resilient, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the administration and the state in the wake of this assault."