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Iran is willing to resume atomic negotiations with the United States on condition that it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has announced.

The Iranian diplomat stated only diplomacy produced results, and shared recent overtures had been made by mediators to restart discussions with the American leadership. He claimed Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the global atomic watchdog to inspect attacked atomic facilities for protective measures.

Walking a Complex Course

Araghchi is navigating a difficult path since Iran does not want be seen to be acting from a position of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen more resilient in military terms and psychologically from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a security conference in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to enrich uranium within its borders that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Earlier Negotiations Suddenly Terminated

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and hostile conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a two-week conflict that ended with the US president claiming the facilities had been obliterated. Afterward, European countries used their right to reinstate international penalties, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Magic Solution Offered

Tehran representatives said they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was agreed an local partnership with Washington's engagement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have remained and the US could be assured that Iran's nuclear programme was entirely non-military.

It had not been decided in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could work on Iranian soil, but that was a logical implication of the consortium proposal. Officials asserted repeatedly they had achieved a deal with the US representative the US official only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "detractors in America".

Existing Position

Iranian officials stated the partnership proposal was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the suggestion could be revived in some form if negotiations restart.

Trump last week claimed he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to restart talks, but in private Iran's diplomats state they are not yet obtaining coherent offers from the United States either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of inactivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his address to the forum, designed to paint the US as a controlling nation that abuses the idea of global regulations, Araghchi stated the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the conflict could not be resolved by combat operations. He said the assaults began with a US demand for an total Iran submission and culminated with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were mounted with full US knowledge and cooperation, making trust hard to reestablish.

Negotiations Remains the Ultimate Answer

The foreign minister stated: "It was not Iran that had deserted diplomacy; it was the United States and the western countries that had always sought to dictate their will during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be alive and continues the ultimate answer to resolve conflicts, but its criteria, regulations and tenets must be adhered to."

"If they speak to the nation of Iran with the tone of dignity and honor, they will obtain a response in the identical language."

Repair and Recovery

In what is characterized by Iran's diplomats as the struggle of repair and recovery, the foreign minister claimed he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this conflict; we have discovered our personal limitations and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He added: "We effectively endured this war. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to destroy, stays intact. The facilities and machinery, if damaged, will be restored; what is essential is the determination of the nation of Iran and then the social solidarity that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to shatter. The nation of Iran have become more powerful, more united, and more supportive of the administration and the nation in the face of this attack."