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Tehran is ready to resume nuclear negotiations with the United States provided that it is approached with "respect" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has declared.

Abbas Araghchi stated only diplomacy was effective, and revealed new appeals had come from mediators to restart talks with the American leadership. He said Iran did not have unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran had not yet reached a point to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to access struck enrichment centers for security reasons.

Navigating a Complex Path

The foreign minister is treading a challenging path since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be acting from a situation of disadvantage, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out stronger in military terms and psychologically from the coordinated strike on its nuclear sites in June.

He was talking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the primary cause of the impasse in the prior discussions.

Prior Negotiations Abruptly Ended

The previous five rounds of talks between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter termination on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, struck Tehran's atomic facilities in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the US president asserting the sites had been eliminated. Subsequently, European countries employed their authority to restore global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.

Magic Solution Suggested

Iran's diplomats stated they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was agreed an domestic cooperative with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to claim victory since domestic enrichment would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was entirely non-military.

It had not been settled in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Officials claimed on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with the US representative the American negotiator only for the agreement to disintegrate due to "detractors in America".

Existing Situation

Iranian officials stated the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be reintroduced in certain ways if discussions restart.

The American leader last week stated he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to restart talks, but in private Tehran representatives state they are not yet receiving clear proposals from Washington either directly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran says dialogue is not part of a show.

Diplomatic Stance

In his address to the gathering, aimed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that misuses the notion of international law, the foreign minister declared the two-week conflict showed the dispute could not be resolved by combat operations. He said the assaults commenced with a American requirement for an complete Tehran capitulation and concluded with an complete request for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were carried out with full US knowledge and collaboration, making trust hard to restore.

Diplomacy Remains the Primary Solution

The foreign minister said: "It was not Iran that had abandoned dialogue; it was America and the European states that had always tried to enforce their desires during the talks. Diplomacy can still be viable and stays the primary answer to address conflicts, but its criteria, rules and tenets must be respected."

"In case they speak to the nation of Iran with the approach of dignity and honor, they will obtain a answer in the equivalent tone."

Restoration and Rebuilding

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the struggle of restoration and recovery, Araghchi stated he was confident Iran's security strengths "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been rebuilt. We gained numerous insights from this engagement; we have identified our own weaknesses and the shortcomings of the opponent."

He continued: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our atomic expertise, which they aimed to destroy, remains in place. The installations and equipment, if eliminated, will be reconstructed; what is crucial is the determination of the Iranian people and then the national cohesion that they targeted, but did not succeed to shatter. The nation of Iran have developed more resilient, more integrated, and more supportive of the administration and the country in the face of this attack."