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Iran is willing to restart nuclear talks with Washington provided that it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has stated.

Abbas Araghchi declared solely negotiations was effective, and revealed fresh requests had come from intermediaries to restart negotiations with the US government. He said Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran was not yet able to allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to access attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Navigating a Difficult Route

Araghchi is walking a challenging path since Iran does not want be seen to be operating from a position of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had arisen more powerful defensively and emotionally from the Israeli-US attack on its atomic facilities in June.

He was addressing at a security conference in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to refine atomic fuel on home soil that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Earlier Negotiations Abruptly Concluded

The earlier sessions of negotiations between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that concluded with Donald Trump declaring the sites had been obliterated. Following this, EU nations used their privilege to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a substantial consequence.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Iranian officials claimed they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the uranium processing matter in prior discussions, when it was agreed an local partnership with American involvement could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to declare success since home-based processing would have persisted and the US could be assured that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could function within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the partnership suggestion. Officials claimed repeatedly they had achieved a deal with the US representative the American negotiator only for the deal to collapse due to "opponents in the US".

Present Position

Iran's diplomats said the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the suggestion could be reintroduced in various formats if negotiations restart.

The American leader in recent days claimed he had been obtaining communications that Iran desired to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Tehran representatives say they are not yet getting consistent overtures from the United States either straightforwardly or from significant local go-betweens, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been accused of passivity in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran says dialogue is not part of a performance.

Diplomatic Stance

In his remarks to the conference, intended to paint the US as a controlling nation that misuses the idea of international law, Araghchi stated the fortnight-long engagement revealed the conflict could not be ended by combat operations. He said the assaults commenced with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an absolute demand for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were mounted with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making trust difficult to rebuild.

Diplomacy Remains the Final Resolution

Araghchi declared: "It was not Iran that had deserted diplomacy; it was America and the Western nations that had consistently sought to impose their demands during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be active and stays the primary resolution to settle disputes, but its standards, regulations and fundamentals must be followed."

"In case they address to the citizens of Tehran with the tone of dignity and respect, they will get a answer in the same approach."

Repair and Rebuilding

In what is portrayed by Iran's diplomats as the conflict of restoration and reconstruction, the foreign minister claimed he was assured Iran's security strengths "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been rebuilt. We learned many lessons from this engagement; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."

He stated: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they aimed to destroy, stays intact. The facilities and machinery, if damaged, will be restored; what is important is the determination of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they aimed at, but failed to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have become more powerful, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the administration and the state in the face of this invasion."