President Hassan Rouhani noted that the window of opportunity created in the wake of the July nuclear deal with major powers will not remain open forever and his government intends to make the most of the rare opportunity despite the opposition of critics.
Rouhani was speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony to unveil nuclear achievements in Tehran on Thursday a day ahead of National Nuclear Technology Day.
The president said the opportunity provided by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action will not be permanently available and it could be "as fleeting as the clouds passing overhead", referring to the pact by its official title.
"The action plan has presented an opportunity for the nation to attract technology and investment, spur the economy, develop closer cooperation with the world and promote national unity and solidarity," he said.
"If, God forbid, the few people who do not want to see us benefit from this opportunity succeed in their attempts, the opportunity will be lost forever."
Iran emerged from years of sanctions in mid-January when the historic agreement, negotiated with P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), went into full effect.
It agreed to temporarily scale down its nuclear program in return, which domestic conservative opponents have seized upon to strongly criticize moderate Rouhani, who saw the deal through.
"We ought to use all the means available to exploit the opportunity and help the country progress and develop," he said.
Fruit of Moderation
Rouhani noted that the long-running nuclear negotiations came to fruition mainly because the two sides adopted and followed a moderate approach.
"In the nuclear agreement with the world, we have not placed 100% trust in P5+1, nor do they trust us 100%. Our cooperation is based on verification," he said.
Among the new achievements of the country's peaceful nuclear industry unveiled by the president were domestically manufactured zonal centrifuges and ultracentrifuges.
Zonal centrifuges are used to separate cell organelles in a large-capacity rotating chamber and to produce vaccines for diseases like influenza, rabies, hepatitis B and meningitis.
Ultracentrifuge is optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable of generating high acceleration.
The president also inaugurated via video-conference the Pasmangoor nuclear waste stabilization and storage facility in Anarak in the central province of Isfahan.
