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Tehran is prepared to reinitiate nuclear talks with Washington provided that it is approached with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's top diplomat has announced.

Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy worked, and revealed recent overtures had been made by mediators to resume negotiations with the US government. He said Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Tehran was not yet able to permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to access attacked atomic facilities for protective measures.

Navigating a Complex Path

Araghchi is treading a complex route since Iran does not want be seen to be acting from a situation of vulnerability, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out more powerful militarily and mentally from the Israeli-US attack on its nuclear sites in June.

He was talking at a security conference in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an absolute privilege to process nuclear material within its borders that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the prior discussions.

Previous Negotiations Unexpectedly Terminated

The earlier sessions of talks between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter termination on 12 June when Israel, with Washington's assistance, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a fortnight-long engagement that ended with the US president declaring the locations had been destroyed. Following this, European countries exercised their privilege to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Iranian officials said they felt they had attained a "perfect agreement" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was decided an Iran-based consortium with Washington's engagement could refine atomic fuel. Both sides would have been able to declare success since local refinement would have persisted and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was entirely non-military.

It had not been settled in the talks that US nuclear scientists could work inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Officials stated on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the agreement to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".

Present Situation

Iran's diplomats stated the cooperative arrangement was now withdrawn, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be revived in certain ways if discussions reopen.

Trump recently said he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to restart talks, but in private Iran's diplomats claim they are not yet getting clear proposals from Washington either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Iran's state department has been accused of passivity in the aftermath of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran states diplomacy is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Stance

In his speech to the gathering, intended to depict the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of global regulations, Araghchi declared the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the conflict could not be resolved by combat operations. He said the attacks began with a US demand for an total Iran submission and culminated with an unconditional call for a truce.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with complete American awareness and cooperation, making faith difficult to rebuild.

Dialogue Continues the Final Resolution

Araghchi stated: "Tehran was not the one that had abandoned dialogue; it was the United States and the Western nations that had consistently sought to dictate their demands during the talks. Diplomacy can still be viable and continues the final resolution to resolve disputes, but its criteria, guidelines and fundamentals must be respected."

"If they talk to the Iranian people with the language of respect and respect, they will receive a answer in the same approach."

Restoration and Rebuilding

In what is described by Iranian officials as the struggle of restoration and reconstruction, the foreign minister said he was assured Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We acquired many lessons from this war; we have come to know our internal vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of the opponent."

He continued: "We successfully passed this conflict. Our nuclear technology, which they aimed to obliterate, remains in place. The sites and gear, if damaged, will be restored; what is important is the determination of the Iranian people and then the unity of the country that they targeted, but failed to destroy. The Iranian people have become stronger, more united, and more endorsing of the government and the state in the face of this assault."