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Iran is willing to restart nuclear negotiations with the United States as long as it is handled with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has declared.

Abbas Araghchi stated only diplomacy worked, and revealed fresh requests had originated from go-betweens to restart negotiations with the American leadership. He claimed Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran was not yet able to permit the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit struck enrichment centers for safety concerns.

Walking a Difficult Route

Araghchi is walking a difficult course since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be acting from a stance of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had come out stronger militarily and mentally from the coordinated strike on its enrichment centers in June.

He was addressing at a security conference in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to enrich uranium within its borders that it will always maintain" – the primary cause of the impasse in the prior discussions.

Previous Negotiations Unexpectedly Concluded

The earlier sessions of talks between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter termination on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, targeted Tehran's atomic facilities in a two-week conflict that culminated with Donald Trump claiming the locations had been destroyed. Subsequently, EU nations employed their privilege to reimpose international penalties, but Iran insists they have not had a substantial consequence.

Magic Solution Proposed

Tehran representatives stated they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to claim victory since local refinement would have remained and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Representatives stated repeatedly they had achieved a deal with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the agreement to collapse due to "opponents in the US".

Existing Status

Iran's diplomats said the cooperative arrangement was now no longer available, but it seems very probable the proposal could be revived in certain ways if negotiations restart.

The US president last week stated he had been obtaining communications that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Iranian officials claim they are not yet getting coherent offers from the United States either straightforwardly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of inactivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran asserts negotiations is not part of a show.

Political Standpoint

In his speech to the conference, designed to depict the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the concept of global regulations, the foreign minister said the fortnight-long engagement revealed the conflict could not be ended by military means. He stated the strikes started with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an complete request for a truce.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were executed with full US knowledge and cooperation, making trust hard to rebuild.

Dialogue Stays the Ultimate Resolution

The foreign minister said: "It was not Iran that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the Western nations that had repeatedly tried to impose their demands during the negotiations. Diplomacy can still be alive and continues the primary answer to address conflicts, but its standards, guidelines and tenets must be adhered to."

"If they address to the Iranian people with the language of dignity and respect, they will obtain a reply in the equivalent approach."

Restoration and Rebuilding

In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the battle of recovery and reconstruction, the foreign minister stated he was certain Iran's security strengths "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been restored. We acquired numerous insights from this conflict; we have identified our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He added: "We effectively endured this war. Our atomic expertise, which they intended to obliterate, continues to exist. The facilities and equipment, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is crucial is the will of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they aimed at, but did not succeed to break. The Iranian people have become more resilient, more united, and more endorsing of the government and the country in the aftermath of this assault."