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Tehran is ready to restart nuclear discussions with the United States as long as it is treated with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's foreign minister has stated.

Abbas Araghchi declared exclusively dialogue worked, and revealed recent overtures had originated from go-betweens to resume talks with the American leadership. He claimed Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Iran had not yet reached a point to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to access struck enrichment centers for safety concerns.

Walking a Difficult Path

The foreign minister is walking a complex path since Iran does not want appear to be proceeding from a stance of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged more powerful militarily and emotionally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was talking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to enrich uranium within its borders that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Earlier Discussions Unexpectedly Terminated

The earlier sessions of talks between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter end on 12 June when Israel, with US support, targeted Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that concluded with the US president asserting the facilities had been eliminated. Afterward, EU nations used their privilege to restore global restrictions, but Iran insists they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Offered

Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had achieved a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in previous talks, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Each party would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have persisted and the US could be confident that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been decided in the talks that American atomic experts could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Officials claimed three times they had reached agreement with the US representative Steve Witkoff only for the deal to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Existing Status

Iran's diplomats said the partnership proposal was now no longer available, but it seems very probable the offer could be revived in some form if negotiations reopen.

The American leader last week stated he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but privately Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet receiving coherent offers from Washington either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been accused of non-responsiveness in the face of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran states dialogue is not part of a show.

Political Stance

In his address to the forum, aimed to portray the US as a controlling nation that misuses the concept of global regulations, the foreign minister said the two-week conflict revealed the conflict could not be ended by combat operations. He said the assaults commenced with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and concluded with an complete request for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with total Washington understanding and collaboration, making faith difficult to rebuild.

Dialogue Stays the Primary Answer

The foreign minister stated: "It was not Iran that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the European states that had consistently sought to dictate their demands during the negotiations. Dialogue can still be active and continues the primary solution to address disagreements, but its requirements, regulations and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"Provided that they talk to the nation of Iran with the tone of dignity and honor, they will receive a response in the identical tone."

Repair and Rebuilding

In what is portrayed by Iran's diplomats as the battle of restoration and recovery, Araghchi stated he was confident Iran's security strengths "are considerably enhanced than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been rebuilt. We acquired many lessons from this conflict; we have identified our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the enemy."

He stated: "We successfully passed this war. Our nuclear technology, which they planned to destroy, remains in place. The sites and equipment, if destroyed, will be restored; what is crucial is the determination of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they targeted, but failed to shatter. The Iranian people have grown more powerful, more united, and more backing of the government and the nation in the wake of this attack."