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Tehran is ready to resume nuclear negotiations with Washington as long as it is handled with "respect" and "respect", Tehran's top diplomat has announced.

Abbas Araghchi said exclusively dialogue produced results, and disclosed recent overtures had been made by mediators to restart talks with the US government. He claimed Iran possessed no secret atomic facilities, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the global atomic watchdog to visit attacked atomic facilities for protective measures.

Walking a Complex Route

The foreign minister is treading a complex route since Iran aims to avoid appear to be acting from a position of weakness, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more resilient defensively and mentally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to enrich uranium on home soil that it will never give up" – the key factor of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Prior Negotiations Unexpectedly Concluded

The prior phases of discussions between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, targeted Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that culminated with the US president declaring the facilities had been destroyed. Following this, European countries used their authority to reimpose global restrictions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Offered

Iranian officials claimed they felt they had attained a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with US participation could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have remained and the US could be assured that Iran's atomic project was entirely non-military.

It had not been settled in the negotiations that American atomic experts could function inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Diplomats claimed on multiple occasions they had secured an understanding with the US representative the US official only for the arrangement to collapse due to "detractors in America".

Current Status

Tehran representatives stated the cooperative arrangement was now off the table, but it seems quite possible the offer could be revived in various formats if discussions reopen.

Trump last week said he had been receiving messages that Iran desired to reopen negotiations, but in private Tehran representatives state they are not yet receiving clear proposals from America either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been accused of passivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran states diplomacy is not part of a performance.

Diplomatic Standpoint

In his speech to the gathering, aimed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of international law, Araghchi stated the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the dispute could not be settled by armed force. He stated the attacks started with a Washington's ultimatum for an total Iran submission and ended with an unconditional call for a halt to hostilities.

Iran is certain the first strikes by Israel were carried out with full US knowledge and cooperation, making confidence challenging to reestablish.

Diplomacy Stays the Final Answer

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had fled diplomacy; it was America and the western countries that had consistently sought to enforce their will during the talks. Dialogue can still be viable and remains the final solution to settle disagreements, but its standards, rules and tenets must be adhered to."

"Provided that they speak to the citizens of Tehran with the language of dignity and respect, they will obtain a response in the equivalent approach."

Restoration and Recovery

In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the conflict of restoration and reconstruction, the foreign minister claimed he was certain Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been rebuilt. We gained multiple understandings from this engagement; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the weaknesses of the enemy."

He added: "We managed to survive this war. Our atomic expertise, which they planned to eliminate, continues to exist. The facilities and machinery, if destroyed, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they aimed at, but were unable to break. The nation of Iran have become stronger, more united, and more backing of the administration and the state in the aftermath of this attack."