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Iran is ready to restart nuclear negotiations with the United States on condition that it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has stated.

The Iranian diplomat stated only diplomacy worked, and shared recent overtures had originated from mediators to restart negotiations with the US government. He asserted Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Iran had not yet reached a point to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Walking a Challenging Path

Araghchi is treading a complex course since Iran wishes not to be seen to be proceeding from a situation of weakness, and he consistently maintained that Iran had arisen more powerful defensively and mentally from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material on home soil that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the deadlock in the previous talks.

Previous Talks Abruptly Terminated

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and bitter conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, struck Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that culminated with the US president declaring the locations had been eliminated. Subsequently, European countries exercised their authority to reinstate UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a major impact.

Perfect Agreement Suggested

Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had achieved a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with US participation could process nuclear material. Both sides 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 solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been agreed in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could work on Iranian soil, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Diplomats stated three times they had achieved a deal with the US representative Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to disintegrate due to "spoilers in Washington".

Present Situation

Iran's diplomats stated the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be resurrected in various formats if discussions reopen.

The American leader recently claimed he had been getting signals that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but privately Tehran representatives claim they are not yet obtaining clear proposals from Washington either straightforwardly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of inactivity in the aftermath of the US president's straightforward manner, but Tehran says dialogue is not part of a show.

Political Position

In his remarks to the gathering, designed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that misuses the idea of global regulations, Araghchi said the two-week conflict demonstrated the conflict could not be ended by military means. He said the assaults started with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and concluded with an complete request for a truce.

Iran is convinced the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with total Washington understanding and coordination, making trust hard to reestablish.

Negotiations Remains the Final Solution

The foreign minister said: "It was not Iran that had abandoned diplomacy; it was the United States and the western countries that had always attempted to impose their will during the negotiations. Diplomacy can still be viable and stays the final answer to resolve conflicts, but its criteria, rules and tenets must be adhered to."

"In case they speak to the nation of Iran with the language of respect and honor, they will receive a reply in the identical tone."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is described by Tehran representatives as the struggle of recovery and reconstruction, the foreign minister claimed he was confident Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been restored. We learned many lessons from this conflict; we have identified our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He stated: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to eliminate, stays intact. The sites and machinery, if eliminated, will be reconstructed; what is essential is the determination of the nation of Iran and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but were unable to destroy. The Iranian people have become more resilient, more cohesive, and more backing of the government and the state in the wake of this invasion."