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Tehran is willing to resume atomic negotiations with Washington provided that it is treated with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has declared.

The Iranian diplomat declared only diplomacy was effective, and revealed recent overtures had come from go-betweens to restart discussions with the US government. He asserted Iran possessed no secret atomic facilities, and Tehran was not yet able to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to access struck enrichment centers for security reasons.

Navigating a Challenging Course

Araghchi is walking a difficult path since Iran does not want appear to be operating from a situation of weakness, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more resilient defensively and emotionally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was addressing at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material within its borders that it will never give up" – the key factor of the impasse in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Discussions Unexpectedly Ended

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with Donald Trump claiming the locations had been destroyed. Following this, EU nations employed their right to reimpose international penalties, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Tehran representatives stated they felt they had attained a "perfect agreement" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was agreed an local partnership with US participation could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to assert triumph since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the talks that American atomic experts could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Officials claimed on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the deal to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Existing Status

Iran's diplomats said the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be reintroduced in certain ways if negotiations reopen.

The US president last week claimed he had been receiving messages that Iran desired to reopen negotiations, but in private Iran's diplomats say they are not yet getting coherent offers from the United States either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the wake of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Political Stance

In his speech to the gathering, aimed to paint the US as a controlling nation that misuses the idea of worldwide standards, Araghchi declared the two-week conflict demonstrated the conflict could not be resolved by military means. He said the attacks started with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an absolute demand for a truce.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were mounted with complete American awareness and collaboration, making confidence difficult to rebuild.

Negotiations Stays the Ultimate Solution

Araghchi declared: "It was not Iran that had deserted diplomacy; it was America and the western countries that had always tried to impose their desires during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be viable and remains the final resolution to resolve disputes, but its criteria, rules and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"In case they speak to the nation of Iran with the approach of respect and honor, they will receive a response in the equivalent language."

Restoration and Recovery

In what is characterized by Tehran representatives as the struggle of repair and reconstruction, the foreign minister claimed he was certain Iran's security strengths "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this conflict; we have discovered our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the adversary."

He continued: "We effectively endured this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to destroy, continues to exist. The installations and machinery, if destroyed, will be restored; what is important is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the social solidarity that they sought to undermine, but failed to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have become more resilient, more cohesive, and more supportive of the government and the country in the aftermath of this assault."