TEHRAN – With the extent of damage at Iranian nuclear sites following illegal U.S.-Israeli attacks remaining unknown to the West and the public, President Masoud Pezeshkian has announced Tehran will rebuild its nuclear industry, while security chief Ali Larijani stated the country is ready for talks that do not include 'unacceptable conditions'.

The two top Iranian officials' statements essentially echoed the country's decades-long position, which has remained firm despite extensive Western efforts to sway Iran over the past year: Tehran wants a domestic nuclear program, is ready to build confidence in the peaceful nature of its activities, but will not discuss anything non-nuclear.

Visiting the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) on Sunday, Pezeshkian declared that the war Washington and Israel launched against Iran in June failed to demolish the country’s nuclear capabilities. "Knowledge resides within the minds of our scientists, and destroying buildings and factories will not pose a problem; we will rebuild again with even greater strength,” he told the organization’s top managers before touring an exhibition showcasing Iran’s latest nuclear achievements in healthcare, medicine, and the production of radiopharmaceuticals.

While the 12-day war targeted many civilian and military sites, killing at least 1065 Iranians, U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the main goal was to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. This assertion, however, went contrary to reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has stated time and again, most recently last week, that Iran has never pursued nuclear weapons.

Trump has claimed on at least 15 different occasions since the war ended that the Israeli-American attacks “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites. U.S. media has cast doubt on these claims, noting there is no guarantee that the heavily fortified and deep underground sites were actually destroyed. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has confirmed the facilities were “damaged”, and Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei told Trump during a speech last month to “keep dreaming” about destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Nevertheless, there is still no public information on the actual state of the struck sites.
 
Before waging war on Iran, Trump managed to get the country to engage in indirect negotiations on its nuclear program – a contrast to his first term when Tehran had refused such talks after he withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions against the nation. Yet, the U.S. President began the war only days before a sixth round of the negotiations was set to take place in Oman.

Despite growing opposition and skepticism in Iran regarding renewed diplomacy with Washington, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani said on Sunday that Tehran would still be willing to engage in “genuine” negotiations with the U.S..

“We do not say that we oppose negotiations. The Leader [of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei] has always emphasized having knowledge of negotiations. However, real negotiations must take place, not ones with predetermined outcomes,” the seasoned statesman explained. 

Amir Ali Aboldfath, an American Affairs Expert, observed, "Trump has set several conditions for a potential agreement with Iranians, all of which they deem as nonstarters." Reports indicate the United States has further complicated matters by adding the normalization of ties with Israel to its extensive list of demands from Iran, which also encompasses zero uranium enrichment and caps on its missile program. 

"It is as if Trump is intentionally making it increasingly difficult for the two sides to reach a deal. It appears his desire is for Iran's total capitulation, with or without an agreement," the expert stated.

In an interview published last week, Foreign Minister Araghchi told Al Jazeera that the only deal Americans can hope to achieve with Iran is a "win-win" one.