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Iran is willing to resume nuclear talks with the United States on condition that it is treated with "respect" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has stated.

The Iranian diplomat declared solely negotiations produced results, and revealed fresh requests had come from intermediaries to reopen negotiations with the US government. He claimed Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran was not yet able to allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to access struck enrichment centers for protective measures.

Navigating a Complex Route

The foreign minister is navigating a difficult path since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be operating from a position of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out stronger in military terms and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its atomic facilities in June.

He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the main reason of the stalemate in the prior discussions.

Earlier Discussions Abruptly Ended

The earlier sessions of discussions between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter end on 12 June when Israel, with US support, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with Donald Trump declaring the sites had been obliterated. Subsequently, EU nations used their authority to restore international penalties, but Iran insists they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iranian officials claimed they felt they had attained a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an domestic cooperative with US participation could process nuclear material. Both sides would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have continued and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a reasonable assumption of the partnership suggestion. Representatives asserted three times they had achieved a deal with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Present Position

Iran's diplomats said the partnership proposal was now withdrawn, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be resurrected in various formats if talks reopen.

The American leader last week stated he had been getting signals that Iran sought to restart talks, but privately Iranian officials say they are not yet obtaining consistent overtures from Washington either directly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been charged of inactivity in the wake of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Diplomatic Standpoint

In his address to the conference, designed to paint the US as a controlling nation that exploits the concept of worldwide standards, the foreign minister said the two-week conflict revealed the conflict could not be resolved by combat operations. He stated the attacks began with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an absolute demand for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with full US knowledge and cooperation, making faith hard to rebuild.

Dialogue Stays the Final Resolution

Araghchi stated: "It was not Iran that had fled negotiations; it was America and the European states that had repeatedly attempted to dictate their demands during the discussions. Negotiations can still be viable and remains the primary resolution to settle conflicts, but its criteria, regulations and tenets must be followed."

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

Repair and Recovery

In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the struggle of recovery and reconstruction, the foreign minister claimed he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this engagement; we have identified our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the adversary."

He stated: "We effectively endured this conflict. Our nuclear technology, which they planned to destroy, remains in place. The installations and equipment, if eliminated, will be restored; what is essential is the will of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they sought to undermine, but were unable to break. The citizens of Tehran have developed more resilient, more integrated, and more backing of the leadership and the country in the wake of this invasion."