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Iran is willing to resume nuclear discussions with Washington on condition that it is approached with "dignity" and "respect", Iran's top diplomat has announced.

The Iranian diplomat declared only diplomacy was effective, and disclosed recent overtures had originated from go-betweens to reopen discussions with the American leadership. He said Iran possessed no undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran had not yet reached a point to permit the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit bombed nuclear sites for security reasons.

Navigating a Difficult Path

The foreign minister is treading a challenging path since Iran aims to avoid be perceived to be proceeding from a situation of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out more resilient militarily and emotionally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was talking at a security conference in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material on home soil that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the stalemate in the previous talks.

Prior Discussions Suddenly Terminated

The earlier sessions of discussions between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and acrimonious termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that concluded with the US president claiming the facilities had been destroyed. Subsequently, EU nations exercised their authority to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Offered

Iran's diplomats said they felt they had attained a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an domestic cooperative with Washington's engagement could refine atomic fuel. Both sides would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be confident that Iran's atomic project was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could operate inside Iran, but that was a reasonable assumption of the cooperative offer. Diplomats asserted on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with the US representative the American negotiator only for the agreement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Existing Status

Iran's diplomats said the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems quite possible the offer could be resurrected in certain ways if talks reopen.

The American leader recently said he had been getting signals that Iran desired to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Iran's diplomats say they are not yet getting clear proposals from America either explicitly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been charged of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran asserts dialogue is not part of a show.

Diplomatic Stance

In his remarks to the conference, intended to depict the US as a controlling nation that exploits the idea of global regulations, Araghchi stated the fortnight-long engagement showed the conflict could not be ended by military means. He said the attacks commenced with a Washington's ultimatum for an complete Tehran capitulation and ended with an unconditional call for a truce.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were mounted with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making confidence hard to restore.

Diplomacy Stays the Primary Solution

Araghchi stated: "It was not Iran that had abandoned diplomacy; it was America and the Western nations that had always tried to impose their will during the discussions. Dialogue can still be alive and stays the final answer to address disagreements, but its standards, guidelines and fundamentals must be followed."

"If they speak to the nation of Iran with the language of dignity and honor, they will get a reply in the same tone."

Repair and Reconstruction

In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the battle of repair and recovery, Araghchi claimed he was certain Iran's security strengths "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been restored. We gained numerous insights from this conflict; we have discovered our own weaknesses and the shortcomings of the opponent."

He continued: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they planned to destroy, continues to exist. The facilities and machinery, if destroyed, will be reconstructed; what is important is the resolve of the nation of Iran and then the social solidarity that they aimed at, but were unable to break. The citizens of Tehran have developed more resilient, more united, and more backing of the administration and the country in the aftermath of this assault."