Tehran: President of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran Mohammad Eslami said on Sunday that uranium enrichment is the foundation of the nuclear industry and a red line for Tehran.
He made the remarks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV while reacting to the U.S. calls on Iran to cease its uranium enrichment and a “comprehensive” report compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Tehran’s nuclear activities, which was made public by the media on Saturday.
Eslami said nobody could claim that Iran did not have the right to enrich uranium, stressing that in the absence of uranium enrichment, there would be no nuclear fuel cycle, which would impact Iran’s research and applied activities across various sectors.
He emphasised that there was no replacement for uranium enrichment, adding enrichment was among Iran’s rights and a fundamental necessity for nuclear technology development.
Eslami said the IAEA’s recent report about Iran’s nuclear activities was compiled under the influence of France, Germany, Britain, the United States, and Israel.
He stressed that Iran was committed to its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, adding the country’s nuclear activities had always been under the IAEA’s supervision and the agency had always had access to Iran’s facilities and constantly monitored them.
The IAEA’s report said Iran had not fully accounted for nuclear material found at three undeclared sites and continued to provide “less than satisfactory” cooperation.
The report came amid indirect U.S.-Iran talks mediated by Oman, with five rounds of discussions held since April — three in Muscat and two in Rome — focused on Iran’s nuclear program and the potential lifting of U.S. sanctions.
UNI/XINHUA
