WANA (Feb 09) – Iran’s Vice President and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has dismissed speculation about the possible removal of enriched uranium from the country, stressing that such an issue has never been on the agenda of negotiations and has not been discussed in the talks held so far.

 

Speaking to reporters on Monday, February 9, Mohammad Eslami said claims about transferring enriched uranium abroad are largely driven by various pressure groups and actors targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran. He added that even if, at some point, an individual or a country had raised such an idea as a proposal they believed might be helpful, it was never taken up or discussed in negotiations.

 

Addressing Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Eslami emphasized that the Agency has an unresolved and inescapable responsibility regarding military attacks on nuclear facilities under its safeguards. “If facilities are under IAEA supervision and Iran is part of the Agency’s safeguards and credibility framework, the IAEA cannot remain silent about such incidents or adopt political and unprofessional behavior,” he said.

 

Eslami noted that Iran has maintained continuous technical cooperation with the IAEA within the framework of safeguards. He explained that inspections of facilities not damaged in the attacks have continued with the approval of the relevant authorities, and that several such inspections have already been carried out since the war, with a few remaining visits scheduled in the coming days.

 

Turning to negotiations, the head of the AEOI underlined that the core issue concerns the rights of the Iranian nation. He said the IAEA’s Statute obliges the Agency to promote, support, and facilitate the peaceful use of nuclear technology and to ensure that all nations can benefit from it. “This is a clear legal right that cannot be violated. One cannot deny a country this right through pressure or coercion,” he stressed.

 

Eslami added that Iran’s national considerations, development plans, and societal needs require the preservation of integrated nuclear processes and capacities that serve the public. He pointed out that vital products such as radiopharmaceuticals, which meet critical healthcare needs, would not be possible without a domestic nuclear industry and a complete nuclear fuel cycle.

 

Responding to questions about the possibility of referring Iran’s case to the UN Security Council, Eslami said the outcome depends on the political will and honesty of the other parties. If they genuinely choose to abandon nuclear pretexts and refrain from repeating past approaches, he noted, the situation could change. However, he warned that the continued use of pressure tools—whether in the IAEA Board of Governors or the Security Council—has never produced results and will not do so in the future. “Iran’s nuclear activities are fully in line with the law and safeguards regulations, and there has never been a single report of non-compliance despite years of intensive inspections,” he said.

 

Eslami also criticized the IAEA’s silence over the lack of a clear inspection protocol for damaged nuclear facilities, saying Iran has repeatedly raised the issue. He added that Iran had even proposed, at the Agency’s recent conference, a mechanism to prohibit attacks on nuclear facilities under safeguards, but the United States formally opposed the initiative.

 

In closing, Eslami addressed speculation about the possible dilution of 60 percent enriched uranium, saying that any such step would depend entirely on whether all sanctions are fully and effectively lifted in return.

 

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