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Iran is prepared to reinitiate atomic discussions with Washington provided that it is handled with "dignity" and "honor", Iran's top diplomat has stated.

The Iranian diplomat said solely negotiations worked, and revealed recent overtures had been made by intermediaries to resume talks with the American leadership. He said Iran possessed no unreported enrichment locations, and Iran was not yet able to allow the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit bombed nuclear sites for safety concerns.

Walking a Difficult Route

The foreign minister is walking a complex course since Iran does not want be seen to be operating from a situation of weakness, and he consistently maintained that Iran had come out more resilient defensively and emotionally from the Israeli-US attack on its enrichment centers in June.

He was talking at a strategic meeting in Tehran where he reaffirmed that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material within its borders that it will never give up" – the main reason of the impasse in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Negotiations Abruptly Terminated

The previous five rounds of discussions between the US and Iran were ended suddenly and acrimonious conclusion on 12 June when the Israeli government, with US support, struck Iranian nuclear sites in a fortnight-long engagement that culminated with the American leader claiming the locations had been eliminated. Subsequently, EU nations employed their privilege to reinstate UN-wide sanctions, but Iran asserts they have not had a significant effect.

Ideal Resolution Proposed

Iran's diplomats claimed they felt they had attained a "magic solution" to the uranium processing matter in previous talks, when it was settled an Iran-based consortium with US participation could process nuclear material. The two nations would have been able to claim victory since home-based processing would have persisted and the US could be certain that Iran's atomic project was entirely non-military.

It had not been agreed in the discussions that Washington's technical specialists could function inside Iran, but that was a logical implication of the consortium proposal. Diplomats stated repeatedly they had secured an understanding with the US representative the US official only for the deal to disintegrate due to "detractors in America".

Current Status

Iran's diplomats stated the consortium offer was now withdrawn, but it seems quite possible the proposal could be reintroduced in some form if talks restart.

The US president last week claimed he had been getting signals that Iran wanted to resume discussions, but privately Tehran representatives state they are not yet obtaining consistent overtures from Washington either straightforwardly or from key regional mediators, such as the Qatari government, Egypt, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Iran's state department has been accused of non-responsiveness in the aftermath of Washington's unmediated tactics, but Tehran says dialogue is not part of a show.

Political Stance

In his speech to the forum, designed to portray the US as a hegemonic power that abuses the concept of international law, Araghchi stated the 12-day war demonstrated the conflict could not be resolved by combat operations. He stated the assaults began with a American requirement for an unconditional Iranian surrender and culminated with an unconditional call for a truce.

Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were executed with total Washington understanding and collaboration, making confidence challenging to rebuild.

Dialogue Stays the Primary Resolution

The foreign minister declared: "It was not Iran that had abandoned dialogue; it was the United States and the western countries that had always tried to enforce their demands during the discussions. Dialogue can still be active and stays the final answer to settle disagreements, but its requirements, rules and fundamentals must be adhered to."

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

Repair and Recovery

In what is portrayed by Tehran representatives as the battle of repair and rebuilding, the foreign minister claimed he was certain Iran's military capacities "are much stronger than preceding 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been rebuilt. We gained numerous insights from this war; we have come to know our personal limitations and the shortcomings of the enemy."

He continued: "We managed to survive this war. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to obliterate, continues to exist. The sites and gear, if eliminated, will be rebuilt; what is essential is the will of the citizens of Tehran and then the unity of the country that they sought to undermine, but did not succeed to destroy. The Iranian people have grown more powerful, more integrated, and more supportive of the government and the country in the face of this attack."