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Tehran is ready to restart atomic talks with Washington on condition that it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has stated.

Abbas Araghchi said exclusively dialogue was effective, and shared recent overtures had come from go-betweens to resume talks with the Trump administration. He said Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Tehran was not yet able to permit the global atomic watchdog to access attacked atomic facilities for protective measures.

Walking a Complex Path

Araghchi is walking a complex route since Iran does not want appear to be operating from a position of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen stronger defensively and psychologically from the joint assault on its nuclear sites in June.

He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to enrich uranium domestically that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the previous talks.

Prior Discussions Unexpectedly Concluded

The prior phases of discussions between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and bitter end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that ended with Donald Trump asserting the sites had been obliterated. Afterward, EU nations used their privilege to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran insists they have not had a major impact.

Magic Solution Suggested

Iran's diplomats said they felt they had achieved a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with US participation could refine atomic fuel. Each party would have been able to declare success since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the negotiations that American atomic experts could function on Iranian soil, but that was a reasonable assumption of the partnership suggestion. Officials claimed repeatedly they had reached agreement with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to disintegrate due to "detractors in America".

Current Position

Tehran representatives said the cooperative arrangement was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be resurrected in certain ways if talks restart.

Trump recently said he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but in private Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet getting coherent offers from the United States either straightforwardly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of passivity in the wake of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran asserts dialogue is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Stance

In his address to the conference, designed to depict the US as a controlling nation that abuses the notion of international law, Araghchi said the fortnight-long engagement showed the conflict could not be ended by combat operations. He said the attacks commenced with a American requirement for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an absolute demand for a truce.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were mounted with full US knowledge and coordination, making trust difficult to reestablish.

Diplomacy Remains the Ultimate Solution

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had abandoned diplomacy; it was the United States and the Western nations that had consistently tried to dictate their desires during the discussions. Dialogue can still be viable and remains the final resolution to address disagreements, but its criteria, regulations and fundamentals must be respected."

"In case they address to the citizens of Tehran with the approach of dignity and honor, they will receive a response in the equivalent tone."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the battle of recovery and rebuilding, the foreign minister said he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are considerably enhanced than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been restored. We gained multiple understandings from this war; we have identified our internal vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of the enemy."

He continued: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to eliminate, continues to exist. The sites and machinery, if eliminated, will be restored; what is crucial is the determination of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but were unable to shatter. The nation of Iran have become stronger, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the government and the nation in the face of this assault."