Tehran Declares It Might Return to US Nuclear Talks if Treated with 'Respect' and 'Honor'

Tehran is ready to resume nuclear talks with the United States provided that it is handled with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has announced.

Abbas Araghchi declared solely negotiations was effective, and disclosed new appeals had been made by go-betweens to resume discussions with the US government. He said Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran was not yet able to permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Navigating a Challenging Course

Araghchi is walking a challenging path since Iran aims to avoid appear to be acting from a situation of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out stronger in military terms and emotionally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was addressing at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an inalienable right to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will never give up" – the main reason of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Prior Talks Unexpectedly Terminated

The prior phases of discussions between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter termination on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that ended with the US president claiming the locations had been eliminated. Subsequently, Western states used their authority to reinstate international penalties, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.

Magic Solution Proposed

Tehran representatives stated they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with Washington's engagement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's enrichment initiative was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could work on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Officials claimed three times they had reached agreement with Trump's special envoy the American negotiator only for the agreement to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Present Status

Iranian officials declared the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be revived in certain ways if talks resume.

The US president in recent days claimed he had been obtaining communications that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Iranian officials claim they are not yet receiving coherent offers from the United States either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been charged of inactivity in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran asserts negotiations is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Stance

In his remarks to the gathering, aimed to depict the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the notion of global regulations, the foreign minister declared the 12-day war revealed the dispute could not be settled by armed force. He said the attacks commenced with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an absolute demand for a truce.

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

Diplomacy Continues the Final Resolution

The foreign minister declared: "Tehran was not the one that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the western countries that had always tried to impose their demands during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be alive and stays the final resolution to settle disputes, but its criteria, guidelines and principles must be respected."

"Provided that they talk to the citizens of Tehran with the approach of dignity and honor, they will receive a answer in the same language."

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the struggle of restoration and recovery, the foreign minister said he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this war; we have come to know our own weaknesses and the shortcomings of the adversary."

He continued: "We effectively endured this conflict. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to eliminate, continues to exist. The sites and machinery, if eliminated, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the will of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but were unable to shatter. The nation of Iran have grown more powerful, more integrated, and more backing of the leadership and the state in the wake of this invasion."