Iran Says It May Return to American Nuclear Negotiations if Treated with 'Respect' and 'Honor'

Tehran is ready to reinitiate atomic talks with Washington on condition that it is handled with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has announced.

Abbas Araghchi stated only diplomacy worked, and shared new appeals had been made by mediators to reopen talks with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Tehran was not yet able to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit struck enrichment centers for safety concerns.

Walking a Difficult Course

The foreign minister is walking a complex path since Iran does not want be perceived to be acting from a stance of disadvantage, and he consistently maintained that Iran had arisen stronger defensively and mentally from the coordinated strike on its enrichment centers in June.

He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the prior discussions.

Prior Negotiations Abruptly Concluded

The prior phases of talks between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and hostile end on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, targeted Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with the US president declaring the facilities had been obliterated. Following this, European countries exercised their right to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.

Perfect Agreement Offered

Tehran representatives claimed they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an local partnership with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Both sides would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been settled in the talks that American atomic experts could work inside Iran, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Officials asserted three times they had achieved a deal with the US representative the American negotiator only for the agreement to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".

Present Status

Tehran representatives said the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the offer could be resurrected in some form if negotiations restart.

The US president last week said he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to restart talks, but privately Iranian officials claim they are not yet getting consistent overtures from America either directly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of inactivity in the wake of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran states diplomacy is not part of a show.

Negotiating Stance

In his address to the conference, designed to paint the US as a controlling nation that exploits the notion of global regulations, Araghchi stated the two-week conflict revealed the conflict could not be ended by military means. He stated the strikes began with a American requirement for an total Iran submission and culminated with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is assured the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making trust challenging to rebuild.

Negotiations Stays the Final Solution

Araghchi declared: "It was not Iran that had deserted dialogue; it was America and the Western nations that had always sought to enforce their demands during the discussions. Dialogue can still be viable and continues the ultimate solution to settle disputes, but its criteria, regulations and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"If they speak to the nation of Iran with the language of dignity and respect, they will receive a response in the equivalent approach."

Repair and Recovery

In what is described by Tehran representatives as the battle of repair and rebuilding, the foreign minister claimed he was assured Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been restored. We learned multiple understandings from this conflict; we have identified our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the adversary."

He continued: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to destroy, remains in place. The installations and machinery, if destroyed, will be restored; what is essential is the will of the Iranian people and then the social solidarity that they sought to undermine, but failed to destroy. The nation of Iran have developed stronger, more united, and more backing of the leadership and the state in the wake of this invasion."