🔗 Share this article

Tehran is prepared to resume atomic negotiations with Washington provided that it is approached with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has declared.

The Iranian diplomat said only diplomacy worked, and disclosed recent overtures had been made by go-betweens to resume talks with the American leadership. He claimed Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran could not yet authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to access attacked atomic facilities for protective measures.

Navigating a Difficult Route

The foreign minister is treading a complex path since Iran wishes not to be perceived to be operating from a stance of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen more resilient defensively and mentally from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an inalienable right to enrich uranium on home soil that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the prior discussions.

Previous Discussions Abruptly Concluded

The prior phases of discussions between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and hostile end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, targeted Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that culminated with Donald Trump declaring the sites had been eliminated. Afterward, European countries exercised their authority to reinstate international penalties, but Iran insists they have not had a substantial consequence.

Magic Solution Offered

Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an local partnership with American involvement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been settled in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Representatives claimed on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with the US representative the US official only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Present Situation

Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now withdrawn, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be revived in certain ways if discussions restart.

The American leader recently claimed he had been getting signals that Iran desired to resume discussions, but in private Iran's diplomats state they are not yet getting consistent overtures from Washington either explicitly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of passivity in the wake of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a show.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his remarks to the forum, aimed to portray the US as a controlling nation that abuses the idea of international law, the foreign minister said the two-week conflict showed the dispute could not be resolved by military means. He asserted the assaults started with a American requirement for an total Iran submission and concluded with an unconditional call for a truce.

Iran is certain the first strikes by Israel were mounted with total Washington understanding and collaboration, making trust hard to restore.

Negotiations Remains the Primary Resolution

The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had fled negotiations; it was the United States and the European states that had always tried to impose their demands during the discussions. Dialogue can still be alive and remains the ultimate answer to resolve disagreements, but its requirements, guidelines and principles must be adhered to."

"In case they talk to the Iranian people with the approach of respect and respect, they will receive a reply in the identical language."

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iranian officials as the conflict of restoration and reconstruction, the foreign minister said he was assured Iran's security strengths "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been rebuilt. We acquired numerous insights from this war; we have discovered our personal limitations and the shortcomings of the adversary."

He added: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to eliminate, stays intact. The installations and gear, if destroyed, will be restored; what is crucial is the resolve of the nation of Iran and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but did not succeed to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have become stronger, more united, and more endorsing of the administration and the state in the aftermath of this attack."