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Tehran is prepared to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States as long as it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has declared.

Abbas Araghchi stated only diplomacy was effective, and revealed fresh requests had been made by intermediaries to resume talks with the Trump administration. He asserted Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to access attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Navigating a Challenging Path

The foreign minister is walking a complex course since Iran wishes not to be perceived to be operating from a position of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged stronger militarily and psychologically from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Prior Talks Unexpectedly Concluded

The earlier sessions of discussions between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with Donald Trump asserting the locations had been destroyed. Following this, European countries employed their authority to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a substantial consequence.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Iranian officials claimed they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with US participation could refine atomic fuel. Each party would have been able to declare success 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 negotiations that American atomic experts could function within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Diplomats asserted repeatedly they had achieved a deal with Trump's special envoy the US official only for the deal to collapse due to "opponents in the US".

Present Status

Tehran representatives declared the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems very probable the proposal could be revived in various formats if talks reopen.

The US president in recent days claimed he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but in private Tehran representatives say they are not yet obtaining clear proposals from America either straightforwardly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of passivity in the wake of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran states dialogue is not part of a show.

Negotiating Position

In his remarks to the conference, intended to portray the US as a controlling nation that exploits the concept of worldwide standards, the foreign minister said the fortnight-long engagement showed the clash could not be ended by combat operations. He asserted the attacks started with a Washington's ultimatum for an total Iran submission and concluded with an complete request for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with complete American awareness and collaboration, making confidence hard to reestablish.

Dialogue Remains the Final Solution

The foreign minister declared: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned dialogue; it was America and the European states that had repeatedly tried to enforce their demands during the negotiations. Diplomacy can still be active and remains the primary answer to settle conflicts, but its criteria, rules and principles must be followed."

"In case they address to the citizens of Tehran with the approach of respect and honor, they will get a reply in the equivalent tone."

Recovery and Rebuilding

In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the struggle of repair and recovery, the foreign minister stated he was certain Iran's security strengths "have significantly improved than before 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been restored. We acquired multiple understandings from this engagement; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the adversary."

He added: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our atomic expertise, which they intended to obliterate, remains in place. The installations and machinery, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is important is the determination of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they aimed at, but failed to destroy. The nation of Iran have grown stronger, more integrated, and more backing of the administration and the nation in the face of this attack."