🔗 Share this article

Iran is ready to restart atomic negotiations with the United States on condition that it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has announced.

The Iranian diplomat stated solely negotiations worked, and shared recent overtures had originated from intermediaries to reopen negotiations with the US government. He asserted Iran possessed no undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect attacked atomic facilities for safety concerns.

Walking a Difficult Path

Araghchi is treading a challenging path since Iran wishes not to be seen to be proceeding from a situation of disadvantage, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged stronger in military terms and emotionally from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was addressing at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to refine atomic fuel on home soil that it will always maintain" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Talks Suddenly Concluded

The previous five rounds of talks between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and hostile termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, struck Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that concluded with the US president declaring the locations had been eliminated. Afterward, Western states employed their authority to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iranian officials said they felt they had attained a "perfect agreement" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was agreed an local partnership with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be assured that Iran's atomic project was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the discussions that American atomic experts could work on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the partnership suggestion. Representatives asserted on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with the US representative the American negotiator only for the deal to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".

Present Status

Iranian officials declared the partnership proposal was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be reintroduced in certain ways if negotiations restart.

The US president in recent days said he had been receiving messages that Iran desired to resume discussions, but privately Iranian officials state they are not yet receiving clear proposals from the United States either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of inactivity in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran states dialogue is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Stance

In his address to the gathering, intended to paint the US as a dominant force that exploits the concept of worldwide standards, the foreign minister declared the 12-day war showed the clash could not be settled by armed force. He stated the strikes started with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an absolute demand for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with full US knowledge and cooperation, making trust difficult to restore.

Diplomacy Continues the Primary Solution

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the European states that had always attempted to enforce their demands during the negotiations. Dialogue can still be active and remains the primary solution to resolve conflicts, but its standards, guidelines and principles must be adhered to."

"If they talk to the citizens of Tehran with the tone of dignity and honor, they will obtain a reply in the identical language."

Restoration and Recovery

In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the battle of repair and reconstruction, the foreign minister claimed he was certain Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We learned multiple understandings from this war; we have come to know our personal limitations and the shortcomings of the opponent."

He continued: "We managed to survive this conflict. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to destroy, continues to exist. The sites and equipment, if destroyed, will be rebuilt; what is crucial is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the social solidarity that they aimed at, but did not succeed to shatter. The Iranian people have become more resilient, more united, and more backing of the government and the country in the face of this invasion."