🔗 Share this article

Tehran is prepared to restart atomic negotiations with the United States on condition that it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's foreign minister has stated.

Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy was effective, and shared new appeals had originated from go-betweens to resume talks with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran possessed no secret atomic facilities, and Tehran could not yet authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit bombed nuclear sites for protective measures.

Navigating a Challenging Path

The foreign minister is navigating a difficult course since Iran wishes not to be perceived to be operating from a situation of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen more powerful defensively and emotionally from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.

He was addressing at a security conference in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to refine atomic fuel on home soil that it will always maintain" – the key factor of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Previous Negotiations Abruptly Ended

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a 12-day war that culminated with the American leader asserting the sites had been destroyed. Following this, EU nations used their authority to reimpose international penalties, but Iran insists they have not had a substantial consequence.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iranian officials claimed they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with Washington's engagement could refine atomic fuel. Both sides would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could function on Iranian soil, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Officials asserted on multiple occasions they had achieved a deal with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the deal to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Existing Situation

Tehran representatives stated the consortium offer was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be revived in some form if negotiations resume.

The US president in recent days said he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Iran's diplomats state they are not yet receiving coherent offers from America either straightforwardly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been charged of passivity in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran states diplomacy is not part of a show.

Political Stance

In his speech to the forum, aimed to depict the US as a hegemonic power that misuses the concept of international law, Araghchi declared the 12-day war demonstrated the clash could not be ended by armed force. He stated the assaults started with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and concluded with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were executed with complete American awareness and coordination, making faith challenging to rebuild.

Negotiations Remains the Ultimate Resolution

The foreign minister declared: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned dialogue; it was the United States and the European states that had consistently tried to enforce their desires during the talks. Diplomacy can still be alive and continues the primary answer to resolve conflicts, but its standards, guidelines and fundamentals must be respected."

"In case they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the language of respect and honor, they will obtain a reply in the equivalent approach."

Restoration and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iranian officials as the struggle of restoration and rebuilding, the foreign minister claimed he was assured Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We gained many lessons from this engagement; we have identified our personal limitations and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."

He continued: "We successfully passed this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to eliminate, stays intact. The facilities and gear, if damaged, will be restored; what is crucial is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the social solidarity that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to destroy. The Iranian people have grown more resilient, more integrated, and more supportive of the leadership and the country in the wake of this invasion."