🔗 Share this article

Tehran is prepared to resume atomic negotiations with the United States as long as it is handled with "respect" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has declared.

The Iranian diplomat said solely negotiations produced results, and disclosed new appeals had come from mediators to resume discussions with the US government. He asserted Iran did not have unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran could not yet allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to access attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Navigating a Difficult Course

The foreign minister is navigating a difficult course since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be operating from a position of disadvantage, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen more resilient militarily and emotionally from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was addressing at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material domestically that it will never give up" – the key factor of the impasse in the previous talks.

Previous Discussions Unexpectedly Terminated

The earlier sessions of negotiations between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a two-week conflict that concluded with the US president declaring the locations had been eliminated. Afterward, Western states exercised their authority to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iran's diplomats said they felt they had attained a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an local partnership with Washington's engagement could process nuclear material. Both sides would have been able to assert triumph since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Officials stated repeatedly they had achieved a deal with Washington's diplomat Steve Witkoff only for the agreement to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Existing Position

Tehran representatives declared the partnership proposal was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the offer could be resurrected in various formats if discussions restart.

The American leader in recent days stated he had been receiving messages that Iran desired to resume discussions, but privately Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet getting consistent overtures from America either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of non-responsiveness in the wake of the US president's straightforward manner, but Iran states dialogue is not part of a show.

Diplomatic Stance

In his address to the conference, intended to depict the US as a controlling nation that misuses the idea of global regulations, the foreign minister declared the 12-day war revealed the conflict could not be resolved by military means. He stated the strikes started with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an unconditional call for a truce.

Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were mounted with complete American awareness and coordination, making trust difficult to restore.

Diplomacy Continues the Primary Solution

The foreign minister said: "It was not Iran that had fled diplomacy; it was America and the European states that had repeatedly tried to enforce their demands during the discussions. Negotiations can still be active and remains the ultimate solution to address disagreements, but its requirements, guidelines and tenets must be adhered to."

"In case they address to the citizens of Tehran with the language of dignity and honor, they will get a response in the same tone."

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the conflict of repair and reconstruction, Araghchi claimed he was certain Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We learned numerous insights from this conflict; we have identified our own weaknesses and the shortcomings of the adversary."

He stated: "We managed to survive this conflict. Our nuclear technology, which they aimed to obliterate, remains in place. The installations and gear, if damaged, will be rebuilt; what is important is the will of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but were unable to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have become stronger, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the government and the state in the face of this invasion."