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Iran is willing to reinitiate nuclear discussions with Washington as long as it is handled with "dignity" and "honor", Tehran's top diplomat has announced.

Abbas Araghchi stated exclusively dialogue worked, and revealed fresh requests had come from go-betweens to resume talks with the US government. He asserted Iran had zero undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran could not yet authorize the global atomic watchdog to visit struck enrichment centers for security reasons.

Navigating a Challenging Route

Araghchi is treading a complex path since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be operating from a stance of weakness, and he insisted repeatedly that Iran had arisen more resilient militarily and psychologically from the joint assault on its nuclear sites in June.

He was speaking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reiterated that Iran had "an inalienable right to refine atomic fuel within its borders that it will never give up" – the main reason of the stalemate in the prior discussions.

Prior Negotiations Unexpectedly Terminated

The previous five rounds of discussions between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and bitter conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, struck Iran's enrichment centers in a two-week conflict that concluded with Donald Trump claiming the locations had been eliminated. Afterward, Western states employed their privilege to reinstate international penalties, but Iran asserts they have not had a major impact.

Ideal Resolution Suggested

Tehran representatives claimed they felt they had reached a "ideal resolution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was settled an domestic cooperative with US participation could process nuclear material. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since local refinement would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been agreed in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could work on Iranian soil, but that was a natural consequence of the cooperative offer. Officials stated on multiple occasions they had reached agreement with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the arrangement to disintegrate due to "opponents in the US".

Current Position

Tehran representatives declared the consortium offer was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be revived in various formats if discussions resume.

Trump last week claimed he had been obtaining communications that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but in private Iranian officials say they are not yet getting coherent offers from Washington either explicitly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and the Saudi kingdom. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been criticized of inactivity in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Iran asserts diplomacy is not part of a performance.

Negotiating Position

In his speech to the forum, intended to depict the US as a controlling nation that abuses the concept of global regulations, Araghchi declared the two-week conflict showed the clash could not be settled by armed force. He said the assaults began with a US demand for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is assured the first strikes by Israel were executed with complete American awareness and cooperation, making trust challenging to reestablish.

Dialogue Remains the Primary Resolution

Araghchi said: "Tehran was not the one that had fled negotiations; it was America and the western countries that had consistently tried to impose their will during the talks. Dialogue can still be active and remains the final solution to address conflicts, but its criteria, regulations and fundamentals must be respected."

"Provided that they talk to the nation of Iran with the language of dignity and respect, they will receive a response in the same language."

Restoration and Rebuilding

In what is described by Tehran representatives as the struggle of repair and recovery, Araghchi claimed he was certain Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. Every aspect of our defense have been reestablished. We learned multiple understandings from this war; we have discovered our personal limitations and the weaknesses of the adversary."

He continued: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our nuclear technology, which they aimed to destroy, remains in place. The installations and gear, if eliminated, will be restored; what is important is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the social solidarity that they aimed at, but did not succeed to shatter. The Iranian people have become more resilient, more integrated, and more backing of the government and the nation in the aftermath of this assault."