TEHRAN: The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has expressed the country’s preparedness to share its achievements in the nuclear sector with other states, particularly with neighboring countries.
Behrouz Kamalvandi made the remarks on Wednesday during a meeting with participants at the third Iranian-Arab Dialogue Conference, which was held in Tehran on May 12-14, according to Press TV.
“Iran has 50 years of history and experience in the nuclear field and has been able to train many scientists and specialists,” he said.
“Iran stands ready for comprehensive cooperation in order to transfer its nuclear expertise and technology to all countries, especially neighboring ones. We extend the hand of friendship to all states.”
The AEOI spokesman also highlighted Iran’s achievements in the area of uranium enrichment and the production of radiopharmaceuticals despite Western sanctions.
He further pointed to Israel’s assassination of Iranian scientists and its acts of industrial and cyber-sabotage aimed at slowing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear progress, saying, “We did not obtain the nuclear industry easily in our country and we paid a heavy price for it.”
Meanwhile, Kamlavandi expressed regret that political issues have prevailed over negotiations between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stressing that the talks should be technical and within the framework of Safeguards Agreement.
Iran, he added, has currently one nuclear power plant and is constructing two more as part of plans to generate 20,000 megawatts (MW) of nuclear electricity by the next 20 years.
Last month, the AEOI head said the country intends to construct more nuclear plants and increase the capacity of nuclear power generation as part of efforts to ensure national energy security.
Mohammad Eslami made the announcement during a visit of the first unit of Iran’s only nuclear plant in south of the country on April 22, saying that the Bushehr nuclear power plant has managed to produce a considerable amount of electricity in the past years.
Over the past years, Iran has made great strides in its peaceful nuclear energy program in defiance of illegal sanctions and other hurdles created by the Western powers.
The country, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has also been closely cooperating with the IAEA.
The country showed to the world the peaceful nature of its nuclear program by signing the 2015 nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with six world powers. But, Washington’s unilateral withdrawal in May 2018 and its subsequent re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran left the future of the deal in limbo.
