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Tehran is willing to reinitiate atomic talks with Washington provided that it is approached with "respect" and "respect", Iran's foreign minister has declared.

Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy produced results, and revealed fresh requests had come from intermediaries to resume discussions with the US government. He asserted Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Tehran was not yet able to allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to access attacked atomic facilities for safety concerns.

Navigating a Difficult Course

The foreign minister is navigating a difficult course since Iran does not want be perceived to be acting from a stance of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged more resilient militarily and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material domestically that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Discussions Suddenly Terminated

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, targeted Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that concluded with Donald Trump declaring the facilities had been obliterated. Subsequently, EU nations employed their authority to reimpose international penalties, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Suggested

Iranian officials stated they felt they had achieved a "perfect agreement" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was agreed an domestic cooperative with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Each party would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have continued and the US could be assured that Iran's nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the partnership suggestion. Representatives claimed on multiple occasions they had achieved a deal with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the deal to collapse due to "opponents in the US".

Present Position

Iran's diplomats said the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be reintroduced in some form if discussions reopen.

Trump in recent days stated he had been obtaining communications that Iran desired to restart talks, but privately Iranian officials say they are not yet receiving clear proposals from the United States either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of inactivity in the aftermath of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran says dialogue is not part of a show.

Negotiating Position

In his address to the conference, designed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the idea of global regulations, the foreign minister stated the 12-day war revealed the conflict could not be settled by combat operations. He stated the attacks commenced with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an complete request for a truce.

Iran is assured the initial Israeli attacks were mounted with complete American awareness and coordination, making faith difficult to rebuild.

Diplomacy Remains the Final Resolution

The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had deserted diplomacy; it was America and the western countries that had repeatedly attempted to enforce their desires during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be alive and remains the final answer to resolve disputes, but its criteria, guidelines and principles must be respected."

"If they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the language of dignity and respect, they will receive a answer in the same approach."

Restoration and Recovery

In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the battle of repair and rebuilding, the foreign minister said he was certain Iran's defence capabilities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been restored. We learned multiple understandings from this war; we have identified our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He stated: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they planned to eliminate, stays intact. The installations and equipment, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is important is the determination of the nation of Iran and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to break. The Iranian people have become more resilient, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the government and the state in the aftermath of this attack."