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Iran is prepared to reinitiate atomic talks with the United States as long as it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has stated.

Abbas Araghchi stated solely negotiations produced results, and revealed fresh requests had come from go-betweens to restart discussions with the US government. He claimed Iran did not have undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran could not yet allow the global atomic watchdog to visit struck enrichment centers for security reasons.

Navigating a Complex Path

Araghchi is walking a challenging path since Iran does not want be seen to be acting from a situation of disadvantage, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out more powerful in military terms and mentally from the coordinated strike on its enrichment centers in June.

He was talking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material domestically that it will always maintain" – the key factor of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Earlier Discussions Suddenly Ended

The prior phases of negotiations between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious end on 12 June when Israel, with US support, struck Tehran's atomic facilities in a two-week conflict that ended with the US president claiming the locations had been destroyed. Following this, Western states exercised their right to reimpose international penalties, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.

Ideal Resolution Suggested

Tehran representatives claimed they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with Washington's engagement could process nuclear material. Both sides would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been decided in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could function on Iranian soil, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Diplomats claimed repeatedly they had secured an understanding with the US representative the US official only for the deal to disintegrate due to "detractors in America".

Present Status

Iran's diplomats stated the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems very probable the proposal could be revived in certain ways if negotiations resume.

The American leader last week claimed he had been obtaining communications that Iran desired to restart talks, but privately Iranian officials say they are not yet obtaining consistent overtures from America either straightforwardly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of inactivity in the wake of the US president's straightforward manner, but Tehran states diplomacy is not part of a show.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his address to the gathering, designed to paint the US as a dominant force that abuses the notion of international law, Araghchi stated the fortnight-long engagement revealed the conflict could not be ended by armed force. He asserted the strikes began with a American requirement for an total Iran submission and ended with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is certain the first strikes by Israel were mounted with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making trust difficult to rebuild.

Negotiations Remains the Ultimate Resolution

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had deserted diplomacy; it was the United States and the European states that had always attempted to dictate their will during the negotiations. Diplomacy can still be alive and continues the ultimate answer to resolve conflicts, but its requirements, rules and fundamentals must be respected."

"In case they address to the Iranian people with the tone of respect and honor, they will get a reply in the equivalent language."

Repair and Rebuilding

In what is characterized by Tehran representatives as the battle of recovery and reconstruction, the foreign minister said he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We gained numerous insights from this conflict; we have come to know our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the enemy."

He added: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to obliterate, stays intact. The installations and equipment, if eliminated, will be restored; what is essential is the will of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but did not succeed to shatter. The Iranian people have grown more resilient, more integrated, and more backing of the administration and the state in the face of this assault."