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Iran is willing to reinitiate atomic negotiations with the United States as long as it is treated with "respect" and "respect", Iran's foreign minister has announced.

The Iranian diplomat said only diplomacy worked, and disclosed recent overtures had come from go-betweens to reopen negotiations with the American leadership. He asserted Iran had zero secret atomic facilities, and Iran was not yet able to allow the global atomic watchdog to visit attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Walking a Complex Route

The foreign minister is navigating a complex path since Iran wishes not to be perceived to be operating from a situation of vulnerability, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen stronger in military terms and emotionally from the coordinated strike on its atomic facilities in June.

He was talking at a security conference in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an absolute privilege to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the main reason of the deadlock in the prior discussions.

Prior Discussions Abruptly Ended

The previous five rounds of discussions between the United States and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter conclusion on 12 June when Israel, with US support, targeted Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that culminated with the US president claiming the sites had been eliminated. Following this, Western states used their right to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a major impact.

Magic Solution Offered

Tehran representatives stated they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in previous talks, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to claim victory since domestic enrichment would have remained and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been decided in the talks that American atomic experts could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a logical implication of the partnership suggestion. Officials asserted on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the arrangement to disintegrate due to "spoilers in Washington".

Current Status

Iran's diplomats declared the cooperative arrangement was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the suggestion could be resurrected in certain ways if talks resume.

Trump in recent days claimed he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to reopen negotiations, but privately Iranian officials claim they are not yet getting consistent overtures from Washington either explicitly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of non-responsiveness in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran asserts negotiations is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Position

In his remarks to the conference, aimed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the notion of worldwide standards, Araghchi said the fortnight-long engagement revealed the clash could not be resolved by military means. He asserted the assaults started with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and ended with an absolute demand for a truce.

Iran is certain the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were executed with total Washington understanding and coordination, making faith difficult to rebuild.

Diplomacy Continues the Ultimate Solution

Araghchi declared: "Tehran was not the one that had deserted diplomacy; it was the United States and the European states that had consistently sought to dictate their desires during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be active and continues the final solution to address conflicts, but its standards, rules and fundamentals must be adhered to."

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

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the battle of recovery and rebuilding, the foreign minister said he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We gained multiple understandings from this engagement; we have come to know our own weaknesses and the weaknesses of the enemy."

He stated: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our atomic expertise, which they intended to destroy, remains in place. The facilities and machinery, if eliminated, will be reconstructed; what is essential is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but were unable to destroy. The Iranian people have developed stronger, more integrated, and more supportive of the government and the state in the wake of this invasion."