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Tehran is willing to resume nuclear negotiations with Washington as long as it is approached with "respect" and "respect", Iran's foreign minister has declared.

Abbas Araghchi declared solely negotiations produced results, and shared new appeals had been made by mediators to restart talks with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran possessed no undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran could not yet allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit struck enrichment centers for safety concerns.

Walking a Difficult Path

Araghchi is walking a challenging path since Iran wishes not to appear to be acting from a position of disadvantage, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged more resilient militarily and psychologically from the joint assault 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 enrich uranium within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the prior discussions.

Previous Discussions Unexpectedly Terminated

The earlier sessions of discussions between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter end on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a 12-day war that culminated with the US president asserting the sites had been eliminated. Subsequently, European countries used their privilege to reinstate international penalties, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Proposed

Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with US participation could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to declare success since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Diplomats claimed repeatedly they had reached agreement with the US representative Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to collapse due to "detractors in America".

Current Status

Tehran representatives said the cooperative arrangement was now no longer available, but it seems highly likely the offer could be resurrected in some form if negotiations restart.

The US president in recent days said he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to restart talks, but in private Iran's diplomats say they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from the United States either explicitly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been charged of passivity in the wake of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran says negotiations is not part of a spectacle.

Political Standpoint

In his speech to the forum, aimed to portray the US as a dominant force that abuses the notion of global regulations, the foreign minister said the 12-day war revealed the conflict could not be ended by combat operations. He said the attacks began with a US demand for an total Iran submission and concluded with an complete request for a truce.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were executed with full US knowledge and cooperation, making confidence challenging to restore.

Negotiations Remains the Ultimate Resolution

The foreign minister stated: "It was not Iran that had fled dialogue; it was the United States and the European states that had consistently tried to enforce their will during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be viable and remains the primary answer to resolve disagreements, but its criteria, guidelines and fundamentals must be adhered to."

"Provided that they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the tone of respect and honor, they will get a reply in the equivalent language."

Restoration and Rebuilding

In what is portrayed by Iran's diplomats as the battle of repair and recovery, the foreign minister said he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We learned numerous insights from this war; we have come to know our own weaknesses and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He continued: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to eliminate, remains in place. The facilities and gear, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the determination of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but were unable to shatter. The Iranian people have developed more resilient, more united, and more endorsing of the leadership and the state in the face of this invasion."