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Tehran is willing to reinitiate nuclear talks with the United States on condition that it is approached with "respect" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has announced.

The Iranian diplomat said only diplomacy produced results, and disclosed new appeals had come from intermediaries to resume negotiations with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran had zero secret atomic facilities, and Iran was not yet able to allow the global atomic watchdog to access bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Walking a Challenging Route

Araghchi is treading a complex course since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be proceeding from a stance of disadvantage, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out more powerful defensively and mentally from the joint assault on its atomic facilities in June.

He was talking at a security conference in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to refine atomic fuel within its borders that it will always maintain" – the key factor of the impasse in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Talks Unexpectedly Ended

The prior phases of negotiations between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, struck Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with Donald Trump declaring the sites had been eliminated. Subsequently, European countries employed their authority to reinstate global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Proposed

Tehran representatives said they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an Iran-based consortium with Washington's engagement could enrich uranium. The two nations would have been able to assert triumph since home-based processing would have persisted and the US could be assured that Iran's nuclear programme was entirely non-military.

It had not been settled in the discussions that American atomic experts could function on Iranian soil, but that was a reasonable assumption of the consortium proposal. Officials claimed on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with Washington's diplomat the American negotiator only for the agreement to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".

Current Status

Iran's diplomats said the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be resurrected in certain ways if discussions reopen.

The US president in recent days stated he had been obtaining communications that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but privately Iran's diplomats say they are not yet receiving clear proposals from Washington either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the wake of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran says dialogue is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Position

In his remarks to the forum, aimed to paint the US as a controlling nation that misuses the idea of international law, Araghchi said the 12-day war demonstrated the dispute could not be resolved by military means. He said the strikes began with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an complete request for a truce.

Iran is certain the first strikes by Israel were mounted with full US knowledge and cooperation, making faith hard to rebuild.

Diplomacy Continues the Ultimate Resolution

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had deserted negotiations; it was America and the western countries that had repeatedly attempted to dictate their demands during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be viable and continues the primary resolution to resolve conflicts, but its standards, rules and tenets must be respected."

"In case they talk to the citizens of Tehran with the tone of dignity and honor, they will get a reply in the identical language."

Repair and Rebuilding

In what is characterized by Tehran representatives as the battle of repair and recovery, the foreign minister stated he was certain Iran's military capacities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We learned multiple understandings from this engagement; we have discovered our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the adversary."

He added: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to obliterate, stays intact. The installations and equipment, if destroyed, will be restored; what is important is the resolve of the nation of Iran and then the social solidarity that they targeted, but did not succeed to destroy. The citizens of Tehran have grown stronger, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the administration and the state in the face of this assault."