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Tehran is willing to resume nuclear discussions with Washington on condition that it is treated with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has declared.

The Iranian diplomat stated exclusively dialogue produced results, and disclosed new appeals had been made by go-betweens to restart talks with the American leadership. He claimed Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran was not yet able to permit the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Walking a Difficult Course

Araghchi is walking a difficult course since Iran wishes not to be seen to be operating from a stance of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out more resilient militarily and mentally from the coordinated strike on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the main reason of the stalemate in the prior discussions.

Prior Negotiations Abruptly Terminated

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter termination on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the American leader asserting the locations had been destroyed. Subsequently, European countries exercised their right to reinstate international penalties, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Suggested

Iranian officials said they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with American involvement could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the negotiations that American atomic experts could function within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Representatives asserted repeatedly they had achieved a deal with the US representative Steve Witkoff only for the deal to disintegrate due to "detractors in America".

Existing Position

Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be revived in certain ways if discussions restart.

Trump last week said he had been getting signals that Iran sought to resume discussions, but in private Iranian officials claim they are not yet getting coherent offers from Washington either explicitly 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 inactivity in the wake of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran states diplomacy is not part of a show.

Diplomatic Stance

In his remarks to the conference, aimed to depict the US as a hegemonic power that misuses the idea of global regulations, the foreign minister declared the two-week conflict demonstrated the conflict could not be ended by military means. He asserted the attacks started with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were mounted with total Washington understanding and collaboration, making confidence difficult to restore.

Dialogue Stays the Ultimate Resolution

The foreign minister declared: "Tehran was not the one that had fled dialogue; it was America and the western countries that had repeatedly attempted to impose their desires during the talks. Diplomacy can still be alive and remains the final solution to address conflicts, but its standards, rules and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"Provided that they talk to the Iranian people with the language of respect and honor, they will get a answer in the same language."

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is characterized by Iran's diplomats as the conflict of restoration and rebuilding, Araghchi said he was confident Iran's security strengths "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been rebuilt. We acquired many lessons from this war; we have identified our personal limitations and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He stated: "We successfully passed this war. Our atomic expertise, which they planned to destroy, continues to exist. The sites and gear, if damaged, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they aimed at, but were unable to destroy. The nation of Iran have developed more powerful, more united, and more supportive of the administration and the state in the wake of this invasion."