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Tehran is prepared to restart nuclear talks with Washington on condition that it is approached with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has announced.

The Iranian diplomat said exclusively dialogue produced results, and revealed new appeals had come from go-betweens to resume talks with the US government. He claimed Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Iran had not yet reached a point to authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Walking a Challenging Route

Araghchi is treading a challenging route since Iran wishes not to be seen to be operating from a stance of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen stronger defensively and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material within its borders that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Negotiations Abruptly Concluded

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and bitter conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with US support, struck Tehran's atomic facilities in a two-week conflict that ended with the American leader claiming the sites had been eliminated. Afterward, EU nations exercised their privilege to reimpose international penalties, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.

Ideal Resolution Offered

Iran's diplomats stated they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an domestic cooperative with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Both sides would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's nuclear programme was entirely non-military.

It had not been decided in the negotiations that American atomic experts could operate inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Diplomats claimed three times they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy the American negotiator only for the agreement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Current Position

Iran's diplomats declared the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be reintroduced in certain ways if discussions reopen.

Trump recently stated he had been obtaining communications that Iran sought to restart talks, but confidentially Tehran representatives claim they are not yet getting clear proposals from the United States either directly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been accused of passivity in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Tehran asserts dialogue is not part of a show.

Diplomatic Standpoint

In his remarks to the conference, intended to paint the US as a controlling nation that misuses the concept of international law, the foreign minister said the two-week conflict demonstrated the conflict could not be settled by combat operations. He said the attacks started with a US demand for an complete Tehran capitulation and culminated with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were executed with full US knowledge and cooperation, making faith challenging to rebuild.

Diplomacy Remains the Primary Solution

The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had abandoned dialogue; it was America and the Western nations that had always sought to dictate their demands during the negotiations. Dialogue can still be alive and stays the primary solution to address conflicts, but its criteria, regulations and tenets must be adhered to."

"If they address to the nation of Iran with the approach of respect and honor, they will get a response in the identical language."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is described by Tehran representatives as the struggle of restoration and rebuilding, Araghchi stated he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "have significantly improved than before 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been rebuilt. We gained multiple understandings from this engagement; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of the enemy."

He added: "We effectively endured this conflict. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to eliminate, continues to exist. The sites and machinery, if destroyed, will be restored; what is crucial is the determination of the nation of Iran and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but were unable to destroy. The citizens of Tehran have grown more resilient, more united, and more supportive of the government and the nation in the aftermath of this attack."