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Tehran is willing to resume atomic talks with Washington on condition that it is handled with "dignity" and "respect", Tehran's top diplomat has declared.

The Iranian diplomat declared solely negotiations produced results, and revealed new appeals had been made by go-betweens to restart negotiations with the American leadership. He asserted Iran had zero unreported enrichment locations, and Iran had not yet reached a point to permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to access attacked atomic facilities for security reasons.

Navigating a Challenging Route

The foreign minister is walking a challenging path since Iran wishes not to be seen to be operating from a situation of disadvantage, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged more powerful in military terms and mentally from the joint assault on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to refine atomic fuel on home soil that it will never give up" – the key factor of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Earlier Negotiations Abruptly Concluded

The earlier sessions of discussions between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and hostile conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with American backing, attacked Iranian nuclear sites in a two-week conflict that ended with the US president asserting the sites had been destroyed. Afterward, Western states exercised their right to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Suggested

Tehran representatives said they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the nuclear fuel concern in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an local partnership with American involvement could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's nuclear programme was entirely non-military.

It had not been decided in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could work within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Representatives stated three times they had secured an understanding with the US representative the US official only for the deal to collapse due to "detractors in America".

Existing Status

Iran's diplomats stated the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems very probable the suggestion could be revived in certain ways if negotiations resume.

Trump last week stated he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to restart talks, but confidentially Iranian officials say they are not yet receiving coherent offers from Washington either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of inactivity in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Iran states dialogue is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Position

In his speech to the conference, aimed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the idea of international law, the foreign minister said the two-week conflict showed the conflict could not be ended by military means. He asserted the strikes commenced with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an complete request for a ceasefire.

Iran is certain the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were carried out with total Washington understanding and coordination, making confidence hard to rebuild.

Dialogue Stays the Final Answer

The foreign minister said: "Tehran was not the one that had deserted dialogue; it was the United States and the western countries that had repeatedly sought to impose their demands during the negotiations. Negotiations can still be alive and stays the primary solution to address disagreements, but its standards, regulations and fundamentals must be respected."

"In case they address to the citizens of Tehran with the language of dignity and respect, they will obtain a reply in the identical language."

Repair and Rebuilding

In what is characterized by Iranian officials as the battle of repair and recovery, the foreign minister claimed he was confident Iran's military capacities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We acquired numerous insights from this conflict; we have identified our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the adversary."

He continued: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to eliminate, stays intact. The sites and gear, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is essential is the will of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they targeted, but did not succeed to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have become more resilient, more cohesive, and more endorsing of the leadership and the country in the face of this invasion."