Tehran States It Could Return to American Atomic Talks if Approached with 'Respect' and 'Honor'

Iran is ready to restart atomic discussions with Washington on condition that it is approached with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has declared.

Abbas Araghchi declared solely negotiations worked, and revealed new appeals had come from mediators to restart talks with the Trump administration. He said Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran could not yet authorize the global atomic watchdog to access attacked atomic facilities for safety concerns.

Walking a Complex Course

The foreign minister is treading a difficult course since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be proceeding from a situation of disadvantage, and he consistently maintained that Iran had arisen more powerful defensively and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its atomic facilities in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to enrich uranium within its borders that it will never give up" – the main reason of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Previous Discussions Abruptly Concluded

The earlier sessions of negotiations between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that concluded with the American leader asserting the facilities had been destroyed. Following this, European countries used their authority to restore global restrictions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iranian officials said they felt they had attained a "ideal resolution" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with Washington's engagement could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to declare success since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be assured that Iran's enrichment initiative was entirely non-military.

It had not been agreed in the discussions that American atomic experts could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the consortium proposal. Officials claimed on multiple occasions they had achieved a deal with the US representative the US official only for the agreement to collapse due to "opponents in the US".

Existing Status

Iranian officials stated the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems very probable the suggestion could be revived in some form if discussions restart.

Trump last week stated he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but privately Iran's diplomats say they are not yet receiving clear proposals from the United States either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been accused of passivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran states diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Position

In his speech to the gathering, aimed to paint the US as a dominant force that abuses the notion of worldwide standards, the foreign minister declared the two-week conflict revealed the conflict could not be settled by armed force. He said the strikes started with a US demand for an total Iran submission and ended with an unconditional call for a truce.

Iran is assured the first strikes by Israel were mounted with full US knowledge and cooperation, making confidence hard to restore.

Diplomacy Remains the Primary Resolution

Araghchi stated: "It was not Iran that had deserted diplomacy; it was America and the Western nations that had consistently sought to dictate their demands during the talks. Diplomacy can still be viable and continues the final answer to resolve disputes, but its requirements, regulations and principles must be followed."

"In case they speak to the nation of Iran with the tone of respect and honor, they will receive a answer in the identical tone."

Repair and Rebuilding

In what is described by Iranian officials as the conflict of restoration and recovery, the foreign minister claimed he was certain Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been rebuilt. We learned many lessons from this engagement; we have identified our internal vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of the opponent."

He added: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to obliterate, remains in place. The sites and equipment, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but were unable to break. The nation of Iran have developed stronger, more integrated, and more endorsing of the leadership and the country in the wake of this assault."

Mr. William Morton DDS
Mr. William Morton DDS

Liam van der Berg is a passionate sports journalist with over a decade of experience covering football, tennis, and motorsports.