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Tehran is prepared to restart nuclear negotiations with Washington provided that it is handled with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has declared.

Abbas Araghchi said solely negotiations was effective, and disclosed fresh requests had been made by go-betweens to reopen talks with the American leadership. He said Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to permit the global atomic watchdog to visit struck enrichment centers for protective measures.

Walking a Difficult Course

The foreign minister is walking a difficult path since Iran wishes not to be seen to be acting from a situation of vulnerability, and he consistently maintained that Iran had arisen stronger militarily and emotionally from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was talking at a security conference in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to enrich uranium domestically that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Prior Discussions Abruptly Ended

The earlier sessions of negotiations between the United States and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the US president claiming the locations had been obliterated. Following this, Western states used their right to reinstate global restrictions, but Iran maintains they have not had a major impact.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Iran's diplomats said they felt they had attained a "perfect agreement" to the nuclear fuel concern in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have persisted and the US could be assured that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a reasonable assumption of the consortium proposal. Diplomats stated three times they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy the US official only for the deal to collapse due to "opponents in the US".

Present Status

Iranian officials said the consortium offer was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be revived in some form if talks reopen.

Trump in recent days claimed he had been getting signals that Iran desired to resume discussions, but in private Iranian officials claim they are not yet getting clear proposals from the United States either directly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been charged of passivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his remarks to the conference, designed to depict the US as a controlling nation that abuses the notion of international law, Araghchi stated the 12-day war showed the dispute could not be ended by armed force. He said the strikes started with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and culminated with an complete request for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were executed with full US knowledge and collaboration, making confidence challenging to restore.

Diplomacy Stays the Primary Resolution

Araghchi declared: "It was not Iran that had deserted dialogue; it was the United States and the Western nations that had always sought to enforce their desires during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be viable and remains the final resolution to address disputes, but its requirements, regulations and tenets must be respected."

"Provided that they talk to the Iranian people with the tone of respect and honor, they will obtain a reply in the equivalent language."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is characterized by Iran's diplomats as the struggle of recovery and rebuilding, the foreign minister claimed he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "have significantly improved than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been restored. We learned numerous insights from this engagement; we have come to know our personal limitations and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He continued: "We managed to survive this conflict. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to eliminate, stays intact. The facilities and gear, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is essential is the will of the Iranian people and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but were unable to break. The Iranian people have grown more powerful, more united, and more endorsing of the government and the state in the wake of this invasion."