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Iran is ready to restart atomic talks with the United States on condition that it is treated with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has declared.

Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy was effective, and revealed fresh requests had been made by intermediaries to restart negotiations with the Trump administration. He said Iran possessed no undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran could not yet permit the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect attacked atomic facilities for protective measures.

Walking a Complex Path

The foreign minister is treading a difficult path since Iran does not want be perceived to be operating from a stance of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged more resilient in military terms and emotionally from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.

He was addressing at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to enrich uranium domestically that it will never give up" – the key factor of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Prior Talks Abruptly Concluded

The previous five rounds of talks between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, targeted Tehran's atomic facilities in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the US president claiming the locations had been eliminated. Subsequently, European countries used their privilege to reinstate international penalties, but Iran insists they have not had a substantial consequence.

Magic Solution Suggested

Iranian officials claimed they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was agreed an local partnership with US participation could enrich uranium. The two nations would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be assured that Iran's enrichment initiative was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been agreed in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Officials claimed repeatedly they had achieved a deal with the US representative Steve Witkoff only for the deal to collapse due to "opponents in the US".

Present Situation

Iranian officials declared the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be resurrected in some form if negotiations resume.

Trump recently said he had been getting signals that Iran sought to resume discussions, but privately Iranian officials claim they are not yet receiving coherent offers from Washington either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been accused of passivity in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Political Position

In his speech to the conference, designed to depict the US as a controlling nation that exploits the idea of global regulations, the foreign minister stated the 12-day war demonstrated the clash could not be resolved by armed force. He stated the attacks began with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an complete request for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making confidence difficult to rebuild.

Diplomacy Remains the Final Answer

The foreign minister stated: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned diplomacy; it was America and the Western nations that had repeatedly sought to impose their demands during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be alive and continues the primary resolution to resolve disputes, but its criteria, regulations and principles must be adhered to."

"If they talk to the citizens of Tehran with the tone of respect and honor, they will receive a answer in the same tone."

Repair and Recovery

In what is characterized by Iranian officials as the conflict of recovery and rebuilding, the foreign minister claimed he was assured Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We gained numerous insights from this engagement; we have identified our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."

He continued: "We managed to survive this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to obliterate, continues to exist. The installations and machinery, if destroyed, will be restored; what is crucial is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the unity of the country that they targeted, but were unable to destroy. The Iranian people have grown more resilient, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the leadership and the state in the wake of this assault."