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Iran is willing to reinitiate nuclear talks with the United States as long as it is treated with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has announced.

Abbas Araghchi declared exclusively dialogue worked, and disclosed recent overtures had originated from go-betweens to restart negotiations with the US government. He claimed Iran possessed no secret atomic facilities, and Tehran was not yet able to permit the global atomic watchdog to visit struck enrichment centers for safety concerns.

Walking a Challenging Path

Araghchi is walking a difficult course since Iran wishes not to be perceived to be proceeding from a situation of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged more powerful defensively and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was addressing at a security conference in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material within its borders that it will always maintain" – the key factor of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Earlier Talks Suddenly Concluded

The prior phases of discussions between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, struck Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that concluded with the American leader claiming the locations had been eliminated. Subsequently, EU nations exercised their right to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a substantial consequence.

Perfect Agreement Suggested

Iranian officials said they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in previous talks, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with American involvement could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been decided in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could operate inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Officials asserted on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with Washington's diplomat Steve Witkoff only for the deal to fall apart due to "detractors in America".

Present Status

Tehran representatives said the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be revived in certain ways if discussions reopen.

The US president last week claimed he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to restart talks, but confidentially Iran's diplomats say they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from the United States either straightforwardly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of inactivity in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Iran asserts negotiations is not part of a performance.

Diplomatic Position

In his remarks to the forum, designed to portray the US as a dominant force that exploits the concept of global regulations, the foreign minister said the 12-day war showed the dispute could not be resolved by combat operations. He stated the strikes started with a Washington's ultimatum for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an absolute demand for a ceasefire.

Iran is assured the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with total Washington understanding and collaboration, making confidence challenging to restore.

Negotiations Continues the Primary Solution

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled diplomacy; it was America and the European states that had repeatedly attempted to enforce their will during the negotiations. Diplomacy can still be alive and continues the ultimate answer to resolve disputes, but its requirements, guidelines and tenets must be followed."

"If they talk to the Iranian people with the tone of respect and honor, they will obtain a reply in the same approach."

Restoration and Recovery

In what is characterized by Iranian officials as the struggle of repair and rebuilding, Araghchi said he was assured Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been rebuilt. We acquired numerous insights from this war; we have discovered our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the opponent."

He added: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to eliminate, continues to exist. The installations and gear, if damaged, will be restored; what is important is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the unity of the country that they targeted, but were unable to destroy. The nation of Iran have developed more resilient, more united, and more supportive of the leadership and the state in the aftermath of this attack."