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Tehran is ready to reinitiate nuclear talks with Washington provided that it is treated with "respect" and "honor", Tehran's foreign minister has announced.

Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy produced results, and disclosed recent overtures had come from go-betweens to restart talks with the American leadership. He said Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Iran was not yet able to authorize the global atomic watchdog to access struck enrichment centers for security reasons.

Navigating a Difficult Route

The foreign minister is treading a difficult course since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be operating from a stance of disadvantage, and he consistently maintained that Iran had emerged more powerful in military terms and emotionally from the coordinated strike on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a security conference in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to enrich uranium domestically that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the impasse in the previous talks.

Previous Negotiations Abruptly Concluded

The earlier sessions of discussions between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, targeted Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with Donald Trump claiming the locations had been eliminated. Afterward, Western states used their right to restore international penalties, but Iran insists they have not had a substantial consequence.

Magic Solution Proposed

Tehran representatives stated they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the nuclear fuel concern in previous talks, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with American involvement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could work inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the cooperative offer. Officials asserted three times they had achieved a deal with Washington's diplomat Steve Witkoff only for the deal to disintegrate due to "spoilers in Washington".

Current Status

Iran's diplomats declared the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems very probable the suggestion could be reintroduced in some form if talks reopen.

The US president last week claimed he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Iran's diplomats say they are not yet obtaining consistent overtures from America either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been charged of non-responsiveness in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Iran asserts diplomacy is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Position

In his address to the conference, designed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of global regulations, Araghchi stated the 12-day war showed the conflict could not be resolved by combat operations. He said the strikes began with a American requirement for an complete Tehran capitulation and culminated with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is certain the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with complete American awareness and collaboration, making confidence difficult to rebuild.

Dialogue Continues the Final Answer

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned diplomacy; it was America and the western countries that had consistently tried to impose their desires during the discussions. Negotiations can still be alive and continues the ultimate solution to address disagreements, but its criteria, rules and principles must be followed."

"If they address to the Iranian people with the approach of dignity and respect, they will receive a answer in the equivalent tone."

Repair and Rebuilding

In what is described by Tehran representatives as the struggle of repair and recovery, the foreign minister stated he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are considerably enhanced than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been restored. We acquired multiple understandings from this conflict; we have identified our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the adversary."

He continued: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they planned to destroy, remains in place. The facilities and equipment, if destroyed, will be reconstructed; what is important is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they aimed at, but did not succeed to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have become more resilient, more cohesive, and more backing of the government and the state in the face of this attack."