BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Iran will continue to vigorously pursue the development of its nuclear industry, Mohammad Eslami, the country’s vice president and head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), told local media, Trend reports.
Eslami noted that Iran’s nuclear industry is one of the country’s key sectors and has the potential to grow across multiple fields. He emphasized that Iran will not give up its right to enrich uranium, which remains a matter of national significance.
He reiterated that Iran’s official stance is not to pursue nuclear weapons and that the country rejects 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.
The IAEA stated in its latest report that as of May 17, 2024, Iran had 408.6 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent. The amount of uranium enriched to 60 percent increased by 133.8 kilograms compared to the report given in February. The report considered that enrichment at this level was a short technical step to the 90 percent enrichment level (considered weapons-grade). The agency called on Iran to cooperate fully and effectively.
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