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Tehran is willing to restart nuclear talks with Washington provided that it is handled with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has announced.

Abbas Araghchi declared only diplomacy worked, and disclosed recent overtures had been made by go-betweens to reopen discussions with the Trump administration. He claimed Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Iran had not yet reached a point to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to access struck enrichment centers for safety concerns.

Walking a Complex Course

Araghchi is treading a challenging path since Iran does not want be seen to be acting from a position of disadvantage, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had emerged more powerful in military terms and mentally from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was speaking at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material on home soil that it will always maintain" – the primary cause of the deadlock in the previous talks.

Previous Discussions Suddenly Concluded

The prior phases of negotiations between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and bitter conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with Washington's assistance, targeted Tehran's atomic facilities in a two-week conflict that ended with the US president declaring the sites had been eliminated. Afterward, European countries used their privilege to reinstate UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Suggested

Iranian officials said they felt they had reached a "perfect agreement" to the uranium processing matter in earlier negotiations, when it was settled an local partnership with American involvement could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to claim victory since local refinement would have continued and the US could be assured that Iran's atomic project was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the discussions that American atomic experts could operate within Iranian territory, but that was a natural consequence of the partnership suggestion. Officials stated three times they had achieved a deal with Trump's special envoy the American negotiator only for the agreement to fall apart due to "spoilers in Washington".

Existing Position

Iranian officials declared the partnership proposal was now withdrawn, but it seems very probable the proposal could be resurrected in some form if discussions reopen.

Trump last week stated he had been obtaining communications that Iran sought to reopen negotiations, but confidentially Tehran representatives claim they are not yet receiving clear proposals from the United States either explicitly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as the Qatari government, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been criticized of inactivity in the face of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Iran says diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Political Position

In his speech to the conference, designed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the concept of global regulations, Araghchi said the fortnight-long engagement showed the clash could not be settled by combat operations. He stated the assaults commenced with a American requirement for an total Iran submission and ended with an unconditional call for a truce.

Iran is convinced the first strikes by Israel were executed with full US knowledge and coordination, making faith challenging to reestablish.

Dialogue Stays the Primary Resolution

Araghchi stated: "Tehran was not the one that had deserted negotiations; it was America and the western countries that had always sought to impose their will during the discussions. Diplomacy can still be alive and stays the final solution to settle disputes, but its requirements, regulations and tenets must be followed."

"In case they speak to the Iranian people with the language of dignity and honor, they will receive a reply in the identical approach."

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is described by Iran's diplomats as the struggle of restoration and rebuilding, the foreign minister stated he was confident Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than prior to 13 or 14 June of this year. Our entire military infrastructure have been reestablished. We learned many lessons from this engagement; we have come to know our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the adversary."

He added: "We managed to survive this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they intended to destroy, continues to exist. The installations and gear, if damaged, will be reconstructed; what is important is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but were unable to break. The nation of Iran have developed more resilient, more united, and more endorsing of the leadership and the nation in the aftermath of this assault."