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Iran is willing to resume nuclear discussions with the United States as long as it is handled with "respect" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has declared.

Abbas Araghchi stated solely negotiations produced results, and revealed fresh requests had originated from intermediaries to reopen talks with the American leadership. He said Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Walking a Difficult Route

The foreign minister is walking a difficult path since Iran does not want be perceived to be acting from a situation of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more resilient militarily and mentally from the joint assault on its atomic facilities in June.

He was addressing at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material within its borders that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Prior Talks Abruptly 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 Israel, with Washington's assistance, targeted Iran's enrichment centers in a two-week conflict that ended with Donald Trump claiming the sites had been eliminated. Subsequently, Western states used their authority to reinstate global restrictions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Proposed

Tehran representatives claimed they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the enrichment issue in prior discussions, when it was decided an local partnership with Washington's engagement could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be assured that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been decided in the negotiations that Washington's technical specialists could function inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the partnership suggestion. Representatives claimed on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the deal to disintegrate due to "detractors in America".

Existing Situation

Iranian officials declared the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems very probable the offer could be reintroduced in some form if discussions resume.

The US president in recent days said he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but in private Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet receiving coherent offers from America either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of inactivity in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran says diplomacy is not part of a show.

Diplomatic Stance

In his remarks to the conference, intended to depict the US as a controlling nation that abuses the idea of global regulations, Araghchi said the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the clash could not be ended by military means. He said the attacks started with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making trust hard to restore.

Dialogue Continues the Ultimate Solution

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had fled negotiations; it was America and the western countries that had repeatedly attempted to dictate their demands during the talks. Negotiations can still be alive and remains the final solution to settle conflicts, but its requirements, regulations and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"If they address to the citizens of Tehran with the language of dignity and respect, they will obtain a reply in the identical language."

Restoration and Rebuilding

In what is portrayed by Iran's diplomats as the battle of repair and reconstruction, the foreign minister said he was certain Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this engagement; we have come to know our personal limitations and the vulnerabilities of the adversary."

He continued: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they planned to obliterate, continues to exist. The sites and gear, if destroyed, will be reconstructed; what is important is the will of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they aimed at, but failed to break. The citizens of Tehran have become stronger, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the government and the country in the face of this attack."