Tehran is willing to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States on condition that it is treated with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has stated.
Abbas Araghchi stated exclusively dialogue worked, and disclosed fresh requests had come from go-betweens to resume discussions with the Trump administration. He asserted Iran did not have undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect bombed nuclear sites for protective measures.
Araghchi is treading a challenging path since Iran does not want be perceived to be acting from a stance of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged 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 reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material on home soil that it will always maintain" – the key factor of the stalemate in the previous talks.
The earlier sessions of discussions between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, targeted Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that concluded with the US president declaring the facilities had been obliterated. Subsequently, Western states used their right to reinstate international penalties, but Iran maintains they have not had a substantial consequence.
Tehran representatives stated they felt they had attained a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with American involvement could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to assert triumph since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be certain that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.
It had not been settled in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Officials claimed on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to collapse due to "spoilers in Washington".
Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be revived in some form if talks reopen.
The American leader last week said he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but in private Tehran representatives say they are not yet obtaining clear proposals from the United States either explicitly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been criticized of inactivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran states diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.
In his speech to the gathering, designed to portray the US as a dominant force that abuses the idea of international law, Araghchi declared the 12-day war demonstrated the clash could not be settled by military means. He asserted the strikes began with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and concluded with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.
Iran is certain the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making confidence challenging to reestablish.
The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had deserted dialogue; it was the United States and the western countries that had consistently tried to enforce their demands during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be active and stays the ultimate answer to resolve disputes, but its requirements, rules and tenets must be respected."
"Provided that they address to the citizens of Tehran with the language of respect and honor, they will receive a reply in the same tone."
In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the conflict of restoration and reconstruction, Araghchi said he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We gained many lessons from this war; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."
He added: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they intended to eliminate, continues to exist. The sites and equipment, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is essential is the resolve of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they aimed at, but were unable to shatter. The nation of Iran have developed stronger, more cohesive, and more supportive of the government and the state in the wake of this assault."
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