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Tehran is willing to reinitiate atomic discussions with the United States as long as it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has announced.

Abbas Araghchi stated exclusively dialogue was effective, and shared recent overtures had been made by mediators to resume talks with the American leadership. He asserted Iran did not have undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran could not yet authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Walking a Difficult Route

Araghchi is walking a challenging path since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be operating from a position of weakness, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more powerful militarily and emotionally from the Israeli-US attack on its atomic facilities in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to enrich uranium on home soil that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the impasse in the previous talks.

Previous Discussions Abruptly Concluded

The previous five rounds of discussions between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the American leader declaring the facilities had been eliminated. Afterward, EU nations used their right to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a major impact.

Magic Solution Suggested

Iranian officials said they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the enrichment issue in prior discussions, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with American involvement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to declare success since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was entirely non-military.

It had not been agreed in the negotiations that Washington's technical specialists could work within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Diplomats claimed on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with Washington's diplomat the American negotiator only for the deal to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Present Situation

Iranian officials said the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be revived in various formats if discussions restart.

Trump in recent days claimed he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but confidentially Tehran representatives say they are not yet obtaining consistent overtures from America either explicitly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been charged of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran states dialogue is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his address to the conference, aimed to portray the US as a dominant force that abuses the idea of worldwide standards, the foreign minister declared the 12-day war showed the conflict could not be resolved by military means. He said the strikes began with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an unconditional call for a truce.

Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were executed with full US knowledge and cooperation, making trust hard to rebuild.

Diplomacy Continues the Ultimate Answer

The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had deserted dialogue; it was the United States and the western countries that had always tried to dictate their will during the discussions. Dialogue can still be active and continues the primary answer to address disagreements, but its criteria, guidelines and tenets must be adhered to."

"In case they talk to the nation of Iran with the approach of dignity and honor, they will get a reply in the equivalent tone."

Repair and Rebuilding

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the struggle of recovery and reconstruction, Araghchi claimed he was certain Iran's military capacities "have significantly improved than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been rebuilt. We acquired multiple understandings from this war; we have identified our personal limitations and the shortcomings of the opponent."

He continued: "We effectively endured this war. Our atomic expertise, which they intended to eliminate, remains in place. The installations and gear, if destroyed, will be restored; what is essential is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they aimed at, but were unable to destroy. The citizens of Tehran have grown stronger, more cohesive, and more backing of the government and the nation in the wake of this assault."