🔗 Share this article

Iran is ready to restart nuclear negotiations with the United States on condition that it is handled with "dignity" and "honor", Tehran's foreign minister has declared.

Abbas Araghchi said exclusively dialogue worked, and disclosed fresh requests had been made by mediators to reopen discussions with the US government. He said Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to permit the global atomic watchdog to inspect struck enrichment centers for protective measures.

Walking a Complex Course

Araghchi is treading a difficult route since Iran aims to avoid appear to be acting from a position of disadvantage, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had come out more resilient militarily and mentally from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to enrich uranium domestically that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Negotiations Suddenly Ended

The prior phases of talks between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, struck Iran's enrichment centers in a 12-day war that ended with Donald Trump declaring the sites had been obliterated. Subsequently, European countries exercised their privilege to restore international penalties, but Iran maintains they have not had a substantial consequence.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Tehran representatives stated they felt they had achieved a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in prior discussions, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with American involvement could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since domestic enrichment would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been agreed in the negotiations that Washington's technical specialists could function on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Representatives asserted three times they had reached agreement with Washington's diplomat the American negotiator only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "detractors in America".

Existing Status

Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be resurrected in some form if negotiations resume.

The US president in recent days claimed he had been obtaining communications that Iran desired to restart talks, but privately Iranian officials claim they are not yet obtaining coherent offers from Washington either straightforwardly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been charged of inactivity in the aftermath of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Stance

In his remarks to the forum, designed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of global regulations, Araghchi declared the fortnight-long engagement revealed the conflict could not be ended by armed force. He said the strikes began with a American requirement for an total Iran submission and culminated with an complete request for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making trust hard to rebuild.

Dialogue Stays the Final Resolution

The foreign minister declared: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned diplomacy; it was the United States and the western countries that had repeatedly sought to impose their will during the discussions. Negotiations can still be viable and remains the ultimate answer to address disputes, but its criteria, rules and tenets must be adhered to."

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

Restoration and Recovery

In what is described by Tehran representatives as the struggle of repair and reconstruction, Araghchi said he was certain Iran's military capacities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We gained many lessons from this conflict; we have come to know our personal limitations and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He added: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to destroy, remains in place. The facilities and equipment, if damaged, will be restored; what is essential is the determination of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but failed to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have become more resilient, more cohesive, and more supportive of the government and the nation in the wake of this assault."