Nuclear Industry’s Achievements Highlighted

Head of the Atomic Organization of Iran highlighted the country’s 159 nuclear achievements over the past year in a live television program on the occasion of the national day of nuclear technology on Sunday. 
“In the year 1401 [ended on March 20], our colleagues registered 159 achievements of knowledge, technology and industrial nature,” Mohammad Eslami said, ISNA reported.
He described the April 9 national day as a day of “renewing vows and fulfilling promises,” saying it is celebrated each year so as to measure the country’s level of advancement.
“Registering 159 achievements is a clear message of vigor and vitality,” he said. 
The AEOI chief said the previous year was a most difficult one in terms of political pressure through different hostile resolutions and psychological operations against the country. 
“In this difficult year, we managed to register the highest number of achievements,” he said. 
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors passed two resolutions against Iran last year over accusations about the presence of nuclear material at some old sites in Iran. 
Iran reached an agreement to resolve the issue in the director general latest trip to Tehran in March. 
“Our policy turned their plan of provoking opposition between Iran and the agency to an interaction between the two,” Eslami said. 
This year’s national day of nuclear technology will be a turning point for the development of this infrastructure in the new year, according to Eslami.

Enrichment Capability 

Asked about the AEOI’s desalination project in Bushehr Province, he said it has entered the operational phase, promising that it would be completed in two years. 
“By early [next Iranian year] fresh water should be flowing in pipes for people to use,” he said. 
Eslami pointed to his organization’s activities in the agricultural sector, which involved the processing of both seeds and final products. 
Irradiation of seeds can increase the plant’s productivity and ensure their health, he explained. 
Regarding the end product, the process can eradicate pests and toxic material in garden and agricultural goods and increase their durability in storage, he added.  
“It can both improve the society’s health, … and have a positive effect on economy by increasing the durability of goods.”
The technology has been used in pistachio gardens in the past year which rendered perfect results, according to Eslami. 
Moreover, stable isotopes used for the treatment of thyroid cancer and hyperthyroidism were produced in the AEOI, which will enter mass production in the new year, the organization’s head said. 
A radiopharmaceuticals production center is also under construction which is expected to become the region’s largest factory, he said, hoping it would be launched in less than two years.  
In the energy sector, he said two electricity projects in Bushehr are being carried out under a contract with Russia. 
“Projects 2 and 3 … are not in a favorable status, but have set course and are progressing,” he said, hoping they would not be delayed further.
A roadmap has also been prepared to make the construction and maintenance of power plants domestic. 
“As of this year, we will use a range of the country’s industries for building parts needed for power plants’ equipment,” Eslami said. 
The top nuclear chief was later asked about the impacts of Iran’s enrichment of uranium at 60% purity on negotiations over the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 
He said the other sides realized that this technology has become indigenous and cannot be destroyed. 
“More importantly, they realized that Iran has a capability to enrich uranium at any level of purity anytime that it wishes to, and this is a power,” he said. 
Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief under the JCPOA, but later exceeded its limits in response to the United States’ unilateral exit and reimposition of tough sanctions. 
The countermeasures included the enrichment of uranium at 60%, much above the 3.67% allowed by the deal. 
Talks on reviving the agreement have failed to reach an outcome after about two years.