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Tehran is ready to reinitiate nuclear talks with Washington provided that it is treated with "respect" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has declared.

Abbas Araghchi declared only diplomacy was effective, and shared fresh requests had come from go-betweens to restart talks with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Iran was not yet able to permit the global atomic watchdog to access struck enrichment centers for security reasons.

Navigating a Complex Path

Araghchi is walking a difficult path since Iran does not want appear to be acting from a stance of vulnerability, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged stronger militarily and psychologically from the coordinated strike on its nuclear sites in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material domestically that it will never give up" – the main reason of the deadlock in the prior discussions.

Previous Talks Unexpectedly Ended

The earlier sessions of negotiations between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, struck Iran's enrichment centers in a 12-day war that concluded with the American leader claiming the sites had been eliminated. Afterward, Western states employed their privilege to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran maintains they have not had a substantial consequence.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Tehran representatives claimed they felt they had attained a "ideal resolution" to the enrichment issue in previous talks, when it was agreed an local partnership with American involvement could enrich uranium. Both sides would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been decided in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could work within Iranian territory, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Diplomats asserted on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy the American negotiator only for the agreement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Current Position

Tehran representatives declared the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems very probable the proposal could be resurrected in various formats if discussions restart.

The US president in recent days claimed he had been getting signals that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but privately Iran's diplomats say they are not yet getting coherent offers from Washington either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of passivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran says negotiations is not part of a show.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his address to the forum, aimed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the notion of international law, the foreign minister declared the two-week conflict showed the conflict could not be resolved by military means. He asserted the assaults commenced with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an complete request for a truce.

Iran is certain the first strikes by Israel were carried out with full US knowledge and collaboration, making trust hard to reestablish.

Dialogue Stays the Final Answer

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the Western nations that had always tried to impose their desires during the talks. Negotiations can still be alive and stays the final solution to settle disagreements, but its requirements, guidelines and tenets must be followed."

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

Restoration and Reconstruction

In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the struggle of recovery and reconstruction, the foreign minister said he was confident Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We gained numerous insights from this conflict; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of the enemy."

He added: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to obliterate, remains in place. The facilities and machinery, if destroyed, will be restored; what is important is the determination of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but failed to shatter. The Iranian people have grown stronger, more integrated, and more backing of the leadership and the country in the aftermath of this assault."