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Iran is prepared to reinitiate atomic talks with the United States as long as it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has stated.

The Iranian diplomat declared only diplomacy was effective, and revealed fresh requests had come from go-betweens to resume negotiations with the US government. He claimed Iran did not have undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran was not yet able to permit the global atomic watchdog to visit attacked atomic facilities for safety concerns.

Navigating a Challenging Course

The foreign minister is walking a difficult course since Iran does not want be seen to be operating from a situation of disadvantage, and he emphatically stated that Iran had arisen more powerful defensively and mentally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to refine atomic fuel within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Previous Negotiations Suddenly Terminated

The prior phases of talks between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, struck Iran's enrichment centers in a 12-day war that concluded with Donald Trump declaring the locations had been eliminated. Following this, European countries exercised their privilege to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Iran's diplomats stated they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an domestic cooperative with Washington's engagement could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was entirely non-military.

It had not been agreed in the talks that US nuclear scientists could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a reasonable assumption of the consortium proposal. Diplomats claimed repeatedly they had secured an understanding with the US representative Steve Witkoff only for the agreement to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".

Present Situation

Iranian officials stated the consortium offer was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be revived in certain ways if discussions restart.

The US president recently stated he had been getting signals that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but in private Tehran representatives say they are not yet receiving coherent offers from Washington either straightforwardly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of inactivity in the aftermath of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran asserts diplomacy is not part of a show.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his address to the gathering, aimed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that misuses the idea of international law, Araghchi said the 12-day war demonstrated the clash could not be resolved by military means. He asserted the attacks started with a Washington's ultimatum for an total Iran submission and concluded with an absolute demand for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were mounted with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making faith challenging to reestablish.

Negotiations Remains the Ultimate Solution

Araghchi said: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned diplomacy; it was the United States and the western countries that had always attempted to enforce their demands during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be alive and continues the ultimate solution to settle conflicts, but its standards, rules and tenets must be followed."

"In case they address to the nation of Iran with the language of respect and honor, they will receive a reply in the same language."

Repair and Recovery

In what is portrayed by Iran's diplomats as the conflict of restoration and recovery, Araghchi claimed he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this engagement; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the enemy."

He added: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they aimed to obliterate, continues to exist. The facilities and machinery, if damaged, will be restored; what is crucial is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they targeted, but did not succeed to break. The Iranian people have become stronger, more integrated, and more supportive of the administration and the country in the face of this assault."