Tehran States It Might Rejoin American Nuclear Discussions if Handled with 'Dignity' and 'Honor'
Iran is willing to resume atomic negotiations with the United States as long as it is approached with "dignity" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has stated.
The Iranian diplomat stated solely negotiations was effective, and shared recent overtures had been made by mediators to restart discussions with the Trump administration. He said Iran had zero secret atomic facilities, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.
Walking a Complex Course
The foreign minister is navigating a complex course since Iran does not want be perceived to be proceeding from a stance of vulnerability, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged more resilient in military terms and mentally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.
He was speaking at a security conference in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to enrich uranium on home soil that it will never give up" – the main reason of the impasse in the prior discussions.
Earlier Negotiations Abruptly Concluded
The previous five rounds of discussions between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and bitter end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that culminated with the US president declaring the facilities had been destroyed. Afterward, Western states used their privilege to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.
Ideal Resolution Suggested
Iran's diplomats said they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in previous talks, when it was decided an local partnership with American involvement could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to claim victory since domestic enrichment would have persisted and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was entirely non-military.
It had not been decided in the talks that US nuclear scientists could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Officials claimed repeatedly they had secured an understanding with the US representative the US official only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "detractors in America".
Present Position
Tehran representatives stated the consortium offer was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the offer could be revived in some form if talks restart.
The US president in recent days claimed he had been getting signals that Iran sought to resume discussions, but in private Tehran representatives claim they are not yet getting clear proposals from Washington either explicitly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been charged of non-responsiveness in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran asserts dialogue is not part of a spectacle.
Diplomatic Stance
In his address to the conference, designed to paint the US as a controlling nation that abuses the concept of international law, the foreign minister declared the 12-day war showed the clash could not be settled by combat operations. He asserted the assaults commenced with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an absolute demand for a halt to hostilities.
Iran is certain the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were mounted with total Washington understanding and coordination, making confidence difficult to reestablish.
Diplomacy Remains the Primary Answer
The foreign minister stated: "It was not Iran that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the western countries that had consistently tried to impose their desires during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be viable and remains the ultimate solution to address disputes, but its requirements, rules and fundamentals must be respected."
"If they address to the citizens of Tehran with the approach of dignity and honor, they will get a reply in the equivalent approach."
Restoration and Rebuilding
In what is characterized by Tehran representatives as the conflict of restoration and rebuilding, the foreign minister said he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We acquired numerous insights from this engagement; we have discovered our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."
He continued: "We effectively endured this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to eliminate, remains in place. The facilities and equipment, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the determination of the nation of Iran and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but did not succeed to destroy. The Iranian people have become stronger, more united, and more backing of the administration and the country in the aftermath of this invasion."