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Tehran is ready to reinitiate nuclear negotiations with the United States as long as it is approached with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has stated.

Abbas Araghchi said solely negotiations was effective, and disclosed fresh requests had been made by mediators to reopen discussions with the Trump administration. He said Iran possessed no undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to access bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Walking a Complex Path

Araghchi is treading a challenging course since Iran does not want be seen to be operating from a position of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen more powerful militarily and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its nuclear sites in June.

He was addressing at a defense forum in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to refine atomic fuel within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Prior Negotiations Suddenly Concluded

The prior phases of discussions between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that ended with the American leader declaring the locations had been destroyed. Following this, EU nations exercised their authority to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Proposed

Iran's diplomats said they felt they had attained a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Each party would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have persisted and the US could be confident that Iran's enrichment initiative was entirely non-military.

It had not been agreed in the discussions that American atomic experts could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the partnership suggestion. Officials claimed repeatedly they had reached agreement with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the arrangement to disintegrate due to "detractors in America".

Present Position

Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be reintroduced in certain ways if discussions restart.

The US president last week claimed he had been getting signals that Iran sought to resume discussions, but in private Iran's diplomats state they are not yet obtaining consistent overtures from the United States either explicitly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of passivity in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Tehran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Stance

In his address to the forum, designed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of global regulations, Araghchi declared the 12-day war showed the dispute could not be resolved by military means. He said the attacks started with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were carried out with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making trust hard to reestablish.

Negotiations Remains the Final Resolution

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had deserted diplomacy; it was the United States and the Western nations that had consistently tried to impose their will during the discussions. Dialogue can still be alive and stays the final resolution to settle disagreements, but its requirements, guidelines and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"In case they talk to the citizens of Tehran with the approach of dignity and respect, they will obtain a response in the same approach."

Repair and Recovery

In what is portrayed by Iran's diplomats as the battle of restoration and recovery, the foreign minister stated he was confident Iran's security strengths "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been restored. We acquired multiple understandings from this engagement; we have discovered our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."

He added: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to eliminate, stays intact. The installations and gear, if damaged, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but did not succeed to shatter. The nation of Iran have developed more powerful, more united, and more backing of the government and the nation in the aftermath of this assault."