Iran nuclear chief: Tehran can technically make atomic bomb, but not mulling it

Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), told Fars News Agency on Monday “As Mr. (Kamal) Kharrazi mentioned, Iran has the technical ability to build an atomic bomb, but such a program is not on the agenda,” referring to remarks by the senior adviser to Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei in July.

Eslami said the interaction between the AEOI and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been constructive and there has been no disruption, because “all of our capacities are being fulfilled based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Safeguards Agreement.”

He said the possible military dimension (PMD) accusations leveled by the West against Iran’s nuclear energy program stem from the terrorist group Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) and Israel.

The Iranian atomic energy chief highlighted that the main goal of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with the West, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was to remove the misunderstandings and stop the accusations.

Eslami added Iran decided to turn off all JCPOA-related cameras at its nuclear sites as the ‘false’ accusations by the West did not stop.

Former U.S. president Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, under which Iran partially rolled back its atomic work, in exchange for relief from US-led economic sanctions.

Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA – Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany – have held several rounds of inconclusive talks to restore the nuclear agreement.