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Tehran is prepared to restart nuclear negotiations with Washington on condition that it is handled with "respect" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has announced.

Abbas Araghchi declared only diplomacy was effective, and shared new appeals had come from go-betweens to reopen discussions with the American leadership. He asserted Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the global atomic watchdog to access attacked atomic facilities for safety concerns.

Walking a Challenging Course

The foreign minister is walking a challenging path since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be operating from a position of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged more resilient defensively and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its nuclear sites in June.

He was addressing at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to refine atomic fuel within its borders that it will always maintain" – the key factor of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Prior Talks Suddenly Terminated

The prior phases of discussions between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter termination on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, targeted Tehran's atomic facilities in a two-week conflict that ended with Donald Trump asserting the facilities had been eliminated. Following this, European countries exercised their privilege to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Offered

Iran's diplomats said they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with Washington's engagement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been agreed in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the partnership suggestion. Representatives stated repeatedly they had secured an understanding with Washington's diplomat Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Current Status

Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems very probable the offer could be revived in certain ways if talks restart.

The American leader recently said he had been getting signals that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Iranian officials state they are not yet getting coherent offers from Washington either directly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of passivity in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran states diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his remarks to the gathering, intended to portray the US as a dominant force that misuses the idea of global regulations, the foreign minister stated the two-week conflict revealed the conflict could not be settled by combat operations. He said the attacks commenced with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is assured the initial Israeli attacks were executed with full US knowledge and coordination, making trust hard to restore.

Diplomacy Remains the Primary Answer

Araghchi declared: "It was not Iran that had deserted diplomacy; it was America and the western countries that had repeatedly attempted to impose their desires during the negotiations. Dialogue can still be viable and continues the final answer to address conflicts, but its standards, guidelines and principles must be followed."

"Provided that they address to the Iranian people with the approach of dignity and respect, they will receive a reply in the same language."

Recovery and Rebuilding

In what is described by Iranian officials as the struggle of recovery and rebuilding, Araghchi claimed he was assured Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been rebuilt. We acquired numerous insights from this engagement; we have identified our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the adversary."

He stated: "We effectively endured this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they intended to destroy, stays intact. The sites and equipment, if destroyed, will be restored; what is important is the will of the Iranian people and then the social solidarity that they aimed at, but were unable to destroy. The citizens of Tehran have developed stronger, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the leadership and the state in the aftermath of this invasion."