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Iran is prepared to reinitiate atomic discussions with Washington on condition that it is handled with "respect" and "respect", Tehran's foreign minister has declared.

The Iranian diplomat said exclusively dialogue worked, and shared recent overtures had come from go-betweens to reopen talks with the US government. He said Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Iran had not yet reached a point to authorize the International Atomic Energy Agency to access bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.

Navigating a Difficult Course

Araghchi is navigating a difficult course since Iran wishes not to appear to be proceeding from a situation of vulnerability, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged more powerful militarily and emotionally from the joint assault on its atomic facilities in June.

He was addressing at a security conference in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "a fundamental entitlement to process nuclear material within its borders that it will perpetually retain" – the main reason of the impasse in the previous talks.

Earlier Negotiations Unexpectedly Terminated

The earlier sessions of negotiations between the US and Iran were brought to an abrupt and hostile conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, attacked Iran's enrichment centers in a 12-day war that concluded with the US president declaring the locations had been eliminated. Following this, EU nations used their right to reinstate UN-wide sanctions, but Iran maintains they have not had a major impact.

Perfect Agreement Proposed

Tehran representatives stated they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the enrichment issue in earlier negotiations, when it was agreed an local partnership with American involvement could refine atomic fuel. Each party would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have continued and the US could be confident that Iran's nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.

It had not been settled in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could operate inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the partnership suggestion. Officials claimed three times they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy the US official only for the arrangement to fall apart due to "detractors in America".

Existing Situation

Iran's diplomats declared the consortium offer was now off the table, but it seems highly likely the proposal could be resurrected in various formats if negotiations reopen.

The American leader in recent days said he had been getting signals that Iran desired to restart talks, but in private Iran's diplomats state they are not yet receiving coherent offers from Washington either explicitly or from important Middle Eastern intermediaries, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian foreign ministry has been accused of passivity in the face of the US president's straightforward manner, but Iran asserts diplomacy is not part of a spectacle.

Political Standpoint

In his speech to the forum, aimed to depict the US as a hegemonic power that exploits the notion of global regulations, Araghchi stated the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the conflict could not be settled by armed force. He asserted the assaults started with a American requirement for an complete Tehran capitulation and culminated with an unconditional call for a ceasefire.

Iran is certain the initial Israeli attacks were mounted with full US knowledge and coordination, making confidence challenging to rebuild.

Dialogue Remains the Primary Solution

The foreign minister stated: "It was not Iran that had fled negotiations; it was the United States and the Western nations that had always tried to impose their demands during the discussions. Negotiations can still be alive and remains the final solution to settle disagreements, but its requirements, regulations and tenets must be followed."

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

Recovery and Reconstruction

In what is portrayed by Iranian officials as the conflict of restoration and rebuilding, the foreign minister claimed he was confident Iran's defence capabilities "are much stronger than before 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been reestablished. We gained many lessons from this engagement; we have identified our internal vulnerabilities and the shortcomings of the adversary."

He added: "We successfully passed this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they aimed to destroy, continues to exist. The sites and equipment, if eliminated, will be restored; what is crucial is the resolve of the Iranian people and then the national cohesion that they sought to undermine, but failed to break. The citizens of Tehran have become more resilient, more united, and more endorsing of the leadership and the state in the aftermath of this assault."