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Iran is ready to resume nuclear talks with the United States as long as it is treated with "respect" and "respect", Tehran's top diplomat has declared.

Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy worked, and revealed fresh requests had originated from mediators to restart talks with the Trump administration. He said Iran did not have undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran was not yet able to permit the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect struck enrichment centers for protective measures.

Walking a Difficult Path

Araghchi is navigating a challenging route since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be acting from a situation of vulnerability, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged stronger militarily and mentally from the coordinated strike on its nuclear sites in June.

He was speaking at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to refine atomic fuel domestically that it will perpetually retain" – the key factor of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Earlier Discussions Abruptly Terminated

The previous five rounds of talks between the US and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a 12-day war that ended with the US president claiming the facilities had been eliminated. Subsequently, European countries exercised their authority to reimpose UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Perfect Agreement Offered

Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had reached a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was decided an domestic cooperative with American involvement could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to claim victory since domestic enrichment would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been decided in the talks that Washington's technical specialists could operate on Iranian soil, but that was a reasonable assumption of the partnership suggestion. Representatives claimed on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the agreement to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Present Status

Iran's diplomats said the partnership proposal was now off the table, but it seems very probable the suggestion could be resurrected in various formats if negotiations reopen.

The US president in recent days stated he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to restart talks, but privately Iranian officials state they are not yet getting clear proposals from Washington either straightforwardly or from key regional mediators, such as Qatar, Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been criticized of inactivity in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran asserts diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Negotiating Stance

In his speech to the forum, designed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the notion of worldwide standards, the foreign minister said the fortnight-long engagement revealed the conflict could not be resolved by combat operations. He said the strikes began with a American requirement for an total Iran submission and ended with an absolute demand for a ceasefire.

Iran is convinced the initial Israeli attacks were executed with total Washington understanding and cooperation, making trust difficult to restore.

Diplomacy Continues the Primary Solution

The foreign minister declared: "Tehran was not the one that had deserted negotiations; it was America and the western countries that had consistently attempted to impose their demands during the discussions. Dialogue can still be viable and continues the final answer to resolve disagreements, but its criteria, guidelines and principles must be respected."

"If they address to the Iranian people with the language of respect and honor, they will get a answer in the equivalent approach."

Restoration and Rebuilding

In what is characterized by Tehran representatives as the battle of recovery and rebuilding, Araghchi stated he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "have significantly improved than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been restored. We acquired numerous insights from this war; we have identified our personal limitations and the shortcomings of the opponent."

He stated: "We effectively endured this conflict. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to obliterate, remains in place. The sites and machinery, if destroyed, will be restored; what is essential is the determination of the citizens of Tehran and then the national cohesion that they targeted, but did not succeed to destroy. The nation of Iran have developed stronger, more integrated, and more supportive of the leadership and the country in the aftermath of this invasion."