Tehran States It Could Rejoin US Nuclear Negotiations provided that Approached with 'Respect' and 'Honor'
Iran is ready to reinitiate nuclear talks with Washington provided that it is approached with "respect" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has declared.
The Iranian diplomat stated only diplomacy worked, and disclosed fresh requests had been made by mediators to restart negotiations with the US government. He claimed Iran possessed no undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to allow the global atomic watchdog to access bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.
Navigating a Challenging Path
The foreign minister is treading a complex course since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be acting from a situation of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen stronger militarily and psychologically from the joint assault on its atomic facilities in June.
He was addressing at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the impasse in the prior discussions.
Earlier Discussions Suddenly Concluded
The earlier sessions of discussions between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with US support, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a two-week conflict that concluded with the US president declaring the facilities had been eliminated. Following this, European countries exercised their right to reinstate UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.
Ideal Resolution Suggested
Iran's diplomats stated they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with US participation could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to claim victory 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 agreed in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could work within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the consortium proposal. Officials asserted three times they had achieved a deal with the US representative the American negotiator only for the agreement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".
Current Situation
Iranian officials said the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems quite possible the suggestion could be revived in some form if talks restart.
Trump in recent days said he had been getting signals that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but privately Tehran representatives claim they are not yet obtaining coherent offers from Washington either explicitly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been accused of non-responsiveness in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran states dialogue is not part of a performance.
Diplomatic Position
In his remarks to the conference, designed to depict the US as a controlling nation that exploits the concept of worldwide standards, the foreign minister said the two-week conflict demonstrated the clash could not be settled by combat operations. He asserted the strikes began with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an absolute demand for a truce.
Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were carried out with full US knowledge and coordination, making confidence difficult to reestablish.
Negotiations Remains the Final Resolution
The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had fled dialogue; it was the United States and the Western nations that had repeatedly tried to impose their demands during the talks. Negotiations can still be viable and stays the primary solution to resolve conflicts, but its criteria, guidelines and principles must be respected."
"If they talk to the Iranian people with the approach of respect and honor, they will receive a response in the same tone."
Repair and Recovery
In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the struggle of restoration and reconstruction, the foreign minister stated he was certain Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been rebuilt. We acquired multiple understandings from this war; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."
He added: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they aimed to destroy, stays intact. The sites and machinery, if eliminated, will be reconstructed; what is important is the will of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they sought to undermine, but failed to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have become more resilient, more cohesive, and more backing of the leadership and the state in the aftermath of this invasion."