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Tehran is prepared to reinitiate atomic negotiations with Washington provided that it is handled with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has stated.

Abbas Araghchi stated solely negotiations worked, and revealed fresh requests had come from intermediaries to restart talks with the US government. He asserted Iran had zero secret atomic facilities, and Iran had not yet reached a point to authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to inspect struck enrichment centers for safety concerns.

Walking a Complex Path

Araghchi is walking a complex path since Iran aims to avoid appear to be operating from a stance of weakness, and he emphatically stated that Iran had come out more powerful defensively and mentally from the Israeli-US attack on its nuclear sites in June.

He was talking at a security conference in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to enrich uranium on home soil that it will always maintain" – the main reason of the impasse in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Negotiations Abruptly Ended

The previous five rounds of talks between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious termination on 12 June when Israel, with US support, struck Iran's enrichment centers in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the US president asserting the locations had been destroyed. Afterward, European countries exercised their right to restore UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Offered

Iranian officials claimed they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with US participation could enrich uranium. Both sides would have been able to claim victory since domestic enrichment would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the negotiations that US nuclear scientists could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Diplomats claimed repeatedly they had reached agreement with Washington's diplomat the US official only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Present Situation

Iranian officials declared the consortium offer was now withdrawn, but it seems highly likely the offer could be reintroduced in some form if negotiations reopen.

Trump recently stated he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to restart talks, but confidentially Iran's diplomats state they are not yet getting consistent overtures from the United States either directly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, Egypt, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of passivity in the wake of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran asserts negotiations is not part of a show.

Diplomatic Position

In his speech to the forum, aimed to paint the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the concept of international law, the foreign minister declared the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the clash could not be ended by armed force. He stated the attacks commenced with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an absolute demand for a truce.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were carried out with full US knowledge and coordination, making confidence difficult to restore.

Negotiations Remains the Primary Solution

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had deserted negotiations; it was the United States and the Western nations that had always tried to impose their demands during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be active and remains the ultimate solution to address disputes, but its standards, regulations and principles must be followed."

"If they address to the nation of Iran with the approach of dignity and respect, they will obtain a response in the equivalent approach."

Repair and Rebuilding

In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the struggle of restoration and reconstruction, Araghchi said he was certain Iran's military capacities "are considerably enhanced than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We acquired many lessons from this war; we have identified our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the opponent."

He added: "We effectively endured this conflict. Our atomic expertise, which they intended to destroy, remains in place. The sites and equipment, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is crucial is the will of the nation of Iran and then the social solidarity that they aimed at, but did not succeed to shatter. The nation of Iran have grown more powerful, more integrated, and more supportive of the government and the nation in the aftermath of this assault."