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Tehran is willing to resume atomic talks with Washington provided that it is handled with "respect" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has stated.

Abbas Araghchi stated only diplomacy was effective, and revealed new appeals had come from go-betweens to restart discussions with the American leadership. He said Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran was not yet able to permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to access attacked atomic facilities for safety concerns.

Navigating a Difficult Path

Araghchi is treading a challenging course since Iran does not want be seen to be proceeding from a situation of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged stronger militarily and mentally from the coordinated strike on its nuclear sites in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material within its borders that it will never give up" – the main reason of the impasse in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Negotiations Abruptly Concluded

The previous five rounds of discussions between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that culminated with the American leader declaring the facilities had been destroyed. Following this, Western states exercised their authority to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Offered

Iranian officials stated they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with Washington's engagement could enrich uranium. The two nations would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could operate inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Representatives claimed on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with the US representative the American negotiator only for the deal to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Present Status

Tehran representatives declared the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems very probable the suggestion could be revived in various formats if negotiations reopen.

The US president in recent days said he had been receiving messages that Iran desired to resume discussions, but privately Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet receiving coherent offers from America either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been charged of non-responsiveness in the wake of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a show.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his remarks to the conference, intended to paint the US as a controlling nation that misuses the notion of global regulations, the foreign minister declared the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the conflict could not be settled by military means. He stated the attacks commenced with a US demand for an total Iran submission and concluded with an absolute demand for a ceasefire.

Iran is assured the first strikes by Israel were carried out with total Washington understanding and coordination, making confidence difficult to reestablish.

Negotiations Continues the Primary Answer

The foreign minister said: "It was not Iran that had abandoned negotiations; it was America and the western countries that had consistently sought to enforce their desires during the talks. Diplomacy can still be alive and stays the final resolution to settle disputes, but its criteria, regulations and fundamentals must be respected."

"If they speak to the Iranian people with the language of dignity and honor, they will receive a response in the equivalent tone."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iranian officials as the conflict of restoration and rebuilding, Araghchi stated he was confident Iran's security strengths "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been restored. We acquired numerous insights from this war; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."

He continued: "We effectively endured this conflict. Our atomic expertise, which they intended to obliterate, continues to exist. The installations and equipment, if destroyed, will be rebuilt; what is crucial is the determination of the nation of Iran and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but failed to shatter. The Iranian people have grown more resilient, more integrated, and more supportive of the leadership and the state in the face of this attack."