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Tehran is prepared to resume nuclear negotiations with Washington on condition that it is approached with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's foreign minister has stated.

Abbas Araghchi stated only diplomacy worked, and shared fresh requests had come from intermediaries to restart talks with the US government. He claimed Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran was not yet able to permit the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.

Walking a Challenging Path

The foreign minister is treading a challenging path since Iran aims to avoid appear to be operating from a position of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more resilient militarily and emotionally from the joint assault on its atomic facilities in June.

He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material on home soil that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the impasse in the prior discussions.

Earlier Discussions Abruptly Concluded

The earlier sessions of discussions between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that concluded with the US president declaring the facilities had been destroyed. Following this, EU nations exercised their right to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran insists they have not had a major impact.

Magic Solution Offered

Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was agreed an Iran-based consortium with American involvement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to declare success since home-based processing would have persisted and the US could be confident that Iran's atomic project was entirely non-military.

It had not been settled in the talks that US nuclear scientists could work inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the consortium proposal. Representatives claimed three times they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the agreement to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Current Situation

Iran's diplomats said the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be reintroduced in certain ways if talks restart.

Trump last week claimed he had been getting signals that Iran desired to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Iranian officials claim they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from America either straightforwardly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of inactivity in the wake of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Stance

In his speech to the gathering, intended to portray the US as a controlling nation that abuses the concept of worldwide standards, the foreign minister said the 12-day war showed the clash could not be ended by combat operations. He stated the strikes commenced with a US demand for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an absolute demand for a ceasefire.

Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were mounted with complete American awareness and coordination, making trust hard to reestablish.

Negotiations Stays the Primary Solution

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the Western nations that had always attempted to enforce their will during the discussions. Dialogue can still be alive and remains the primary answer to address disagreements, but its criteria, guidelines and tenets must be respected."

"In case they address to the citizens of Tehran with the approach of respect and honor, they will get a answer in the equivalent language."

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is characterized by Iran's diplomats as the conflict of repair and reconstruction, the foreign minister claimed he was assured Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We gained many lessons from this war; we have identified our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."

He added: "We effectively endured this war. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to obliterate, remains in place. The sites and machinery, if destroyed, will be rebuilt; what is crucial is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the social solidarity that they targeted, but failed to break. The Iranian people have developed more powerful, more united, and more backing of the administration and the state in the wake of this invasion."