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Iran is prepared to restart nuclear discussions with the United States on condition that it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's foreign minister has announced.

The Iranian diplomat declared only diplomacy was effective, and shared fresh requests had originated from mediators to reopen discussions with the American leadership. He said Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran could not yet allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.

Walking a Complex Path

The foreign minister is navigating a difficult course since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be proceeding from a situation of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged more resilient militarily and mentally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the impasse in the previous talks.

Earlier Talks Unexpectedly Concluded

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that ended with Donald Trump declaring the facilities had been eliminated. Subsequently, Western states used their privilege to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a major impact.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Iran's diplomats stated they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in prior discussions, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since local refinement would have remained and the US could be certain that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been agreed in the talks that US nuclear scientists could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Diplomats asserted on multiple occasions they had achieved a deal with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the agreement to collapse due to "detractors in America".

Current Situation

Iran's diplomats declared the cooperative arrangement was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be revived in certain ways if discussions restart.

The US president recently said he had been receiving messages that Iran sought to restart talks, but privately Iran's diplomats say they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from Washington either explicitly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of passivity in the wake of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Position

In his address to the forum, aimed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of global regulations, Araghchi declared the two-week conflict showed the conflict could not be settled by military means. He stated the strikes started with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an absolute demand for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were executed with complete American awareness and cooperation, making faith hard to rebuild.

Dialogue Stays the Ultimate Resolution

Araghchi said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled negotiations; it was the United States and the western countries that had repeatedly tried to dictate their will during the talks. Diplomacy can still be alive and remains the ultimate answer to resolve disagreements, but its criteria, guidelines and tenets must be respected."

"Provided that they speak to the nation of Iran with the tone of dignity and respect, they will obtain a reply in the identical language."

Restoration and Rebuilding

In what is characterized by Tehran representatives as the conflict of recovery and reconstruction, the foreign minister stated he was confident Iran's security strengths "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been rebuilt. We acquired multiple understandings from this war; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He stated: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they intended to obliterate, continues to exist. The facilities and machinery, if damaged, will be restored; what is crucial is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they aimed at, but did not succeed to shatter. The Iranian people have developed stronger, more united, and more supportive of the leadership and the country in the wake of this invasion."