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Tehran is willing to resume nuclear talks with Washington provided that it is handled with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has declared.

Abbas Araghchi declared solely negotiations produced results, and disclosed recent overtures had originated from go-betweens to reopen talks with the Trump administration. He said Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Tehran was not yet able to allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to access bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.

Walking a Challenging Route

Araghchi is treading a difficult path since Iran does not want be perceived to be proceeding from a stance of vulnerability, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged more resilient militarily and mentally from the coordinated strike on its enrichment centers in June.

He was addressing at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to refine atomic fuel on home soil that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the earlier negotiations.

Earlier Negotiations Suddenly Ended

The prior phases of negotiations between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that concluded with Donald Trump asserting the locations had been obliterated. Subsequently, Western states exercised their authority to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iranian officials said they felt they had attained a "magic solution" to the enrichment issue in previous talks, when it was settled an local partnership with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Both sides would have been able to declare success since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be assured that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been settled in the talks that American atomic experts could function within Iranian territory, but that was a reasonable assumption of the consortium proposal. Diplomats claimed three times they had secured an understanding with the US representative Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Existing Position

Iranian officials said the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems very probable the proposal could be reintroduced in various formats if negotiations resume.

The American leader last week said he had been getting signals that Iran sought to restart talks, but confidentially Iranian officials say they are not yet receiving consistent overtures from America either straightforwardly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been charged of passivity in the aftermath of the US president's straightforward manner, but Iran says diplomacy is not part of a show.

Negotiating Position

In his remarks to the forum, designed to portray the US as a dominant force that misuses the concept of international law, Araghchi stated the two-week conflict revealed the clash could not be resolved by military means. He said the strikes started with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were mounted with complete American awareness and collaboration, making confidence difficult to reestablish.

Dialogue Stays the Final Solution

The foreign minister stated: "Tehran was not the one that had fled diplomacy; it was the United States and the European states that had always sought to dictate their demands during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be viable and continues the primary resolution to address disputes, but its criteria, rules and principles must be respected."

"Provided that they address to the nation of Iran with the approach of respect and honor, they will receive a reply in the equivalent tone."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iranian officials as the conflict of repair and reconstruction, the foreign minister said he was confident Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We acquired many lessons from this conflict; we have come to know our personal limitations and the shortcomings of the adversary."

He added: "We effectively endured this conflict. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to eliminate, remains in place. The installations and equipment, if eliminated, will be restored; what is crucial is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but were unable to shatter. The Iranian people have grown stronger, more cohesive, and more backing of the administration and the nation in the aftermath of this attack."