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Iran is willing to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States as long as it is treated with "respect" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has declared.

The Iranian diplomat said only diplomacy produced results, and shared new appeals had been made by mediators to resume talks with the Trump administration. He asserted Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to allow the global atomic watchdog to visit bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Navigating a Challenging Path

Araghchi is walking a difficult route since Iran aims to avoid appear to be proceeding from a position of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged more resilient militarily and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will never give up" – the main reason of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Discussions Abruptly Concluded

The earlier sessions of talks between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and bitter conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, targeted Iran's enrichment centers in a 12-day war that concluded with the American leader asserting the sites had been eliminated. Subsequently, EU nations exercised their privilege to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a substantial consequence.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Tehran representatives said they felt they had achieved a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with Washington's engagement could refine atomic fuel. The two nations would have been able to assert triumph since local refinement would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Diplomats claimed repeatedly they had reached agreement with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the deal to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Present Position

Tehran representatives declared the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems very probable the offer could be reintroduced in certain ways if negotiations resume.

Trump last week said he had been getting signals that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but privately Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet receiving clear proposals from America either explicitly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been accused of non-responsiveness in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Iran states diplomacy is not part of a show.

Diplomatic Position

In his speech to the conference, intended to portray the US as a dominant force that abuses the idea of global regulations, Araghchi stated the 12-day war demonstrated the conflict could not be settled by combat operations. He stated the attacks commenced with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an absolute demand for a truce.

Iran is assured the initial Israeli attacks were executed with complete American awareness and collaboration, making trust hard to rebuild.

Dialogue Remains the Ultimate Answer

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned negotiations; it was the United States and the Western nations that had repeatedly attempted to impose their desires during the talks. Diplomacy can still be alive and remains the final resolution to settle disagreements, but its criteria, rules and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"In case they address to the nation of Iran with the approach of respect and honor, they will get a response in the same approach."

Repair and Recovery

In what is characterized by Iranian officials as the struggle of repair and recovery, Araghchi claimed he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been restored. We gained numerous insights from this engagement; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of the opponent."

He continued: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to eliminate, remains in place. The sites and gear, if damaged, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to break. The nation of Iran have developed more resilient, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the administration and the state in the aftermath of this attack."