🔗 Share this article

Tehran is prepared to restart atomic negotiations with Washington on condition that it is approached with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has announced.

The Iranian diplomat said only diplomacy produced results, and shared new appeals had originated from go-betweens to reopen negotiations with the Trump administration. He said Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran was not yet able to allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit bombed nuclear sites for protective measures.

Navigating a Challenging Route

The foreign minister is navigating a complex route since Iran wishes not to be seen to be acting from a position of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged more powerful militarily and mentally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was speaking at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to enrich uranium within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the deadlock in the previous talks.

Earlier Discussions Suddenly Terminated

The prior phases of negotiations between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, struck Iran's enrichment centers in a 12-day war that concluded with the US president claiming the locations had been obliterated. Following this, Western states employed their privilege to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran insists they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Proposed

Iranian officials said they felt they had attained a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in previous talks, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with Washington's engagement could refine atomic fuel. The two nations would have been able to declare success since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be assured that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the negotiations that Washington's technical specialists could work on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Representatives claimed three times they had achieved a deal with Washington's diplomat Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to collapse due to "detractors in America".

Existing Situation

Iranian officials stated the consortium offer was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be resurrected in various formats if talks resume.

The American leader in recent days said he had been getting signals that Iran sought to resume discussions, but in private Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet getting consistent overtures from America either straightforwardly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been accused of passivity in the wake of the US president's straightforward manner, but Tehran asserts diplomacy is not part of a performance.

Political Standpoint

In his speech to the gathering, aimed to depict the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of worldwide standards, Araghchi said the two-week conflict revealed the conflict could not be settled by military means. He asserted the strikes began with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is assured the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with complete American awareness and collaboration, making confidence hard to rebuild.

Dialogue Continues the Ultimate Answer

Araghchi declared: "It was not Iran that had fled dialogue; it was America and the Western nations that had consistently sought to dictate their desires during the discussions. Dialogue can still be alive and remains the final solution to settle conflicts, but its standards, rules and tenets must be respected."

"In case they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the language of dignity and honor, they will get a reply in the identical tone."

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the conflict of recovery and rebuilding, the foreign minister stated he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been rebuilt. We learned multiple understandings from this war; we have come to know our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the opponent."

He stated: "We managed to survive this conflict. Our nuclear technology, which they aimed to obliterate, continues to exist. The facilities and equipment, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the resolve of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but failed to break. The citizens of Tehran have become more powerful, more integrated, and more supportive of the administration and the state in the face of this invasion."