BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 15. Iran's nuclear program did not and has no covert nuclear activities, said Mohammad Eslami, Iran's Vice President and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Trend reports.
Speaking at the 31st Iran Nuclear Conference held in Tehran on May 15, Eslami emphasized that all of Iran's nuclear operations are carried out within the framework of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and remain under its continuous supervision.
Eslami noted that IAEA inspectors regularly conduct both scheduled and unannounced inspections at Iranian nuclear sites.
"According to official statistics, in 2024, 25 percent of all IAEA inspections worldwide were conducted in Iran, even though Iran's share in the global nuclear industry is merely about 3 percent," he said.
The Vice President added that the application of double standards and unfair treatment toward Iran is a recurring issue that will never hinder the country’s development.
He reiterated that Iran’s official policy is to avoid acquiring nuclear weapons and that the country does not support the production of weapons of mass destruction.
On January 16, 2016, the JCPOA came into force between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany) regarding Iran’s nuclear program. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions on Iran starting from November 2018.
By the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to pursue a strategic plan in the nuclear sector to counter the sanctions, leading to a suspension of additional steps and the Additional Protocol as per the nuclear agreement.
Consequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) faced a reduction in monitoring capabilities by 20–30 percent.
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