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Iran is prepared to reinitiate atomic talks with the United States on condition that it is treated with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has stated.

The Iranian diplomat declared solely negotiations worked, and disclosed recent overtures had come from go-betweens to restart talks with the US government. He asserted Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran could not yet allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to access bombed nuclear sites for protective measures.

Walking a Challenging Route

Araghchi is treading a complex route since Iran does not want be seen to be acting from a stance of weakness, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged stronger defensively and psychologically from the joint assault on its atomic facilities in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material domestically that it will always maintain" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Prior Discussions Abruptly Terminated

The earlier sessions of discussions between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, targeted Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that concluded with the US president declaring the facilities had been obliterated. Afterward, Western states exercised their right to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iranian officials stated they felt they had achieved a "perfect agreement" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was agreed an Iran-based consortium with American involvement could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to claim victory since local refinement would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's enrichment initiative was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the partnership suggestion. Representatives claimed repeatedly they had reached agreement with the US representative Steve Witkoff only for the deal to collapse due to "detractors in America".

Current Position

Iranian officials declared the partnership proposal was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the offer could be revived in some form if discussions resume.

Trump in recent days stated he had been receiving messages that Iran desired to resume discussions, but privately Iranian officials claim they are not yet obtaining clear proposals from Washington either directly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been criticized of inactivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran says negotiations is not part of a performance.

Political Stance

In his address to the forum, aimed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the concept of global regulations, Araghchi stated the fortnight-long engagement revealed the dispute could not be resolved by military means. He asserted the strikes started with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an unconditional call for a truce.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were executed with total Washington understanding and coordination, making trust difficult to rebuild.

Diplomacy Remains the Primary Resolution

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned diplomacy; it was America and the European states that had repeatedly tried to dictate their will during the talks. Dialogue can still be viable and continues the final solution to address disputes, but its criteria, rules and principles must be adhered to."

"If they address to the citizens of Tehran with the language of respect and honor, they will get a reply in the identical tone."

Recovery and Rebuilding

In what is characterized by Iran's diplomats as the battle of repair and recovery, the foreign minister said he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "are considerably enhanced than before 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We gained multiple understandings from this engagement; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of the opponent."

He stated: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they planned to obliterate, remains in place. The installations and machinery, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but failed to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have developed more powerful, more integrated, and more backing of the administration and the country in the face of this attack."