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Iran is prepared to restart atomic discussions with Washington on condition that it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's foreign minister has declared.

Abbas Araghchi declared solely negotiations produced results, and shared recent overtures had been made by go-betweens to reopen talks with the US government. He said Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit struck enrichment centers for safety concerns.

Walking a Challenging Route

The foreign minister is treading a difficult path since Iran wishes not to be perceived to be operating from a situation of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged more powerful defensively and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its atomic facilities in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to refine atomic fuel within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the main reason of the stalemate in the prior discussions.

Earlier Talks Unexpectedly Concluded

The earlier sessions of negotiations between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and hostile conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with US support, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that concluded with the US president claiming the locations had been destroyed. Subsequently, Western states exercised their authority to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Suggested

Iranian officials said they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the nuclear fuel concern in previous talks, when it was agreed an local partnership with US participation could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to claim victory since local refinement would have persisted and the US could be assured that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the talks that American atomic experts could work inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Officials stated repeatedly they had secured an understanding with the US representative the US official only for the deal to fall apart due to "detractors in America".

Current Situation

Tehran representatives declared the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the offer could be reintroduced in some form if talks restart.

The US president recently claimed he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but privately Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet getting consistent overtures from the United States either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been criticized of inactivity in the wake of the US president's straightforward manner, but Tehran states dialogue is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Stance

In his remarks to the conference, aimed to depict the US as a hegemonic power that misuses the notion of international law, Araghchi said the fortnight-long engagement showed the conflict could not be ended by military means. He asserted the strikes began with a US demand for an complete Tehran capitulation and concluded with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were mounted with complete American awareness and cooperation, making trust hard to reestablish.

Negotiations Remains the Primary Solution

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled negotiations; it was America and the European states that had repeatedly tried to dictate their desires during the negotiations. Dialogue can still be active and stays the primary solution to address disputes, but its standards, guidelines and tenets must be adhered to."

"In case they talk to the citizens of Tehran with the language of respect and honor, they will receive a answer in the identical tone."

Restoration and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the battle of restoration and recovery, the foreign minister said he was certain Iran's defence capabilities "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We gained many lessons from this conflict; we have identified our personal limitations and the shortcomings of the enemy."

He continued: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they planned to obliterate, continues to exist. The facilities and equipment, if destroyed, will be restored; what is important is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but were unable to break. The citizens of Tehran have grown more resilient, more integrated, and more endorsing of the administration and the country in the face of this assault."