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Tehran is prepared to resume atomic negotiations with Washington on condition that it is treated with "respect" and "respect", Tehran's top diplomat has declared.

Abbas Araghchi stated only diplomacy produced results, and disclosed recent overtures had been made by intermediaries to resume negotiations with the Trump administration. He said Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to allow the global atomic watchdog to access struck enrichment centers for protective measures.

Walking a Challenging Course

The foreign minister is walking a challenging route since Iran does not want be seen to be proceeding from a position of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged more resilient militarily and emotionally from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to refine atomic fuel within its borders that it will never give up" – the main reason of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Prior Negotiations Suddenly Concluded

The prior phases of talks between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, targeted Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that concluded with the American leader asserting the facilities had been obliterated. Following this, Western states employed their privilege to reinstate UN-wide sanctions, but Iran insists they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Offered

Iran's diplomats stated they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an Iran-based consortium with US participation could process nuclear material. Both sides would have been able to claim victory since domestic enrichment would have continued and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the negotiations that American atomic experts could work within Iranian territory, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Representatives stated repeatedly they had reached agreement with Washington's diplomat the American negotiator only for the deal to collapse due to "opponents in the US".

Current Position

Iran's diplomats declared the consortium offer was now no longer available, but it seems very probable the proposal could be reintroduced in various formats if talks restart.

The US president recently claimed he had been receiving messages that Iran sought to resume discussions, but in private Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet getting consistent overtures from America either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been charged of inactivity in the wake of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran states dialogue is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his speech to the conference, designed to paint the US as a dominant force that misuses the notion of global regulations, the foreign minister said the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the conflict could not be resolved by combat operations. He stated the attacks started with a American requirement for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were executed with full US knowledge and coordination, making trust difficult to rebuild.

Diplomacy Continues the Ultimate Solution

Araghchi stated: "Tehran was not the one that had deserted diplomacy; it was America and the European states that had consistently sought to impose their desires during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be alive and stays the final answer to resolve conflicts, but its requirements, guidelines and tenets must be followed."

"If they address to the Iranian people with the approach of respect and honor, they will get a response in the equivalent tone."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is portrayed by Iran's diplomats as the conflict of recovery and reconstruction, the foreign minister claimed he was certain Iran's security strengths "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been rebuilt. We acquired numerous insights from this war; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the opponent."

He continued: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to destroy, remains in place. The sites and machinery, if destroyed, will be restored; what is essential is the will of the nation of Iran and then the unity of the country that they aimed at, but were unable to destroy. The nation of Iran have developed stronger, more united, and more endorsing of the administration and the nation in the wake of this invasion."