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Iran is willing to resume atomic discussions with the United States on condition that it is treated with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has announced.

Abbas Araghchi stated solely negotiations worked, and disclosed new appeals had originated from go-betweens to restart talks with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Iran had not yet reached a point to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to access attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Walking a Challenging Course

The foreign minister is navigating a difficult path since Iran wishes not to be seen to be proceeding from a situation of disadvantage, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged more powerful in military terms and emotionally from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the prior discussions.

Earlier Discussions Abruptly Concluded

The prior phases of negotiations between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious end on 12 June when Israel, with US support, targeted Iran's enrichment centers in a two-week conflict that culminated with Donald Trump declaring the locations had been obliterated. Subsequently, EU nations employed their right to reinstate UN-wide sanctions, but Iran insists they have not had a major impact.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was agreed an Iran-based consortium with US participation could refine atomic fuel. Each party would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the discussions that American atomic experts could work within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Representatives asserted on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with Trump's special envoy the US official only for the agreement to collapse due to "spoilers in Washington".

Existing Situation

Iran's diplomats declared the consortium offer was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be revived in certain ways if negotiations reopen.

Trump recently said he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but in private Iranian officials say they are not yet obtaining clear proposals from the United States either straightforwardly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been charged of passivity in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Tehran says negotiations is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Position

In his remarks to the conference, intended to portray the US as a dominant force that abuses the idea of worldwide standards, Araghchi said the two-week conflict showed the dispute could not be ended by combat operations. He asserted the strikes began with a US demand for an complete Tehran capitulation and culminated with an absolute demand for a truce.

Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were mounted with complete American awareness and coordination, making confidence difficult to restore.

Negotiations Remains the Ultimate Answer

Araghchi said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled negotiations; it was America and the western countries that had consistently attempted to enforce their will during the talks. Dialogue can still be active and remains the primary resolution to address disagreements, but its requirements, rules and tenets must be followed."

"Provided that they address to the Iranian people with the approach of respect and honor, they will receive a reply in the same tone."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is described by Tehran representatives as the conflict of recovery and rebuilding, the foreign minister stated he was confident Iran's security strengths "have significantly improved than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been rebuilt. We gained multiple understandings from this engagement; we have discovered our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the enemy."

He continued: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to obliterate, stays intact. The sites and equipment, if destroyed, will be reconstructed; what is important is the will of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but did not succeed to break. The citizens of Tehran have developed more resilient, more integrated, and more supportive of the administration and the state in the face of this attack."