🔗 Share this article

Tehran is prepared to reinitiate atomic talks with the United States provided that it is handled with "respect" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has announced.

Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy produced results, and shared new appeals had originated from go-betweens to restart talks with the Trump administration. He said Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran was not yet able to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Walking a Difficult Course

Araghchi is walking a complex route since Iran does not want be perceived to be proceeding from a situation of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more resilient militarily and emotionally from the joint assault on its nuclear sites in June.

He was addressing at a defense forum in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to enrich uranium within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Earlier Negotiations Abruptly Concluded

The prior phases of discussions between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, targeted Iran's enrichment centers in a two-week conflict that ended with the US president claiming the facilities had been destroyed. Subsequently, European countries employed their authority to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a substantial consequence.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iranian officials said they felt they had attained a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an domestic cooperative with US participation could enrich uranium. The two nations would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the talks that US nuclear scientists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Diplomats asserted three times they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the deal to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".

Present Status

Iran's diplomats said the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the offer could be reintroduced in some form if discussions reopen.

Trump recently said he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to restart talks, but privately Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet receiving clear proposals from America either explicitly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of inactivity in the wake of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran states negotiations is not part of a spectacle.

Political Position

In his speech to the forum, intended to portray the US as a dominant force that abuses the notion of worldwide standards, the foreign minister stated the 12-day war showed the clash could not be resolved by armed force. He asserted the attacks commenced with a US demand for an total Iran submission and ended with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with complete American awareness and cooperation, making confidence challenging to rebuild.

Diplomacy Continues the Ultimate Solution

Araghchi stated: "It was not Iran that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the Western nations that had always tried to impose their desires during the discussions. Dialogue can still be active and continues the primary answer to address conflicts, but its criteria, regulations and principles must be respected."

"If they talk to the citizens of Tehran with the approach of dignity and respect, they will get a answer in the same approach."

Restoration and Recovery

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the battle of repair and recovery, the foreign minister claimed he was confident Iran's military capacities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We learned numerous insights from this engagement; we have identified our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the opponent."

He continued: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to obliterate, stays intact. The facilities and machinery, if damaged, will be restored; what is crucial is the will of the Iranian people and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but did not succeed to break. The citizens of Tehran have developed more resilient, more integrated, and more backing of the government and the state in the face of this invasion."