Ali Akbar Salehi, director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), vows to defend Iran’s national interests “in the best way” at the Oslo Forum which started its work on Tuesday and lasts until Wednesday.

Talking to reporters on Monday upon his arrival in Norway to participate in the 16th edition of the Oslo Forum, Salehi said he would express Iran's explicit stance on the multilateral nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"Certainly, the JCPOA will be one the most important issues which will be discussed and we will declare Iran's positions explicitly and transparently," Salehi said, according to Press TV.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement, which was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus Germany.

Trump also said he would reinstate U.S. nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for termination of nuclear-related sanctions.

Since the U.S. president pulled Washington out of the historic nuclear deal, European countries have been scrambling to ensure that Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal. The remaining parties have vowed to stay in the accord.

Salehi said he would hold meetings with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the Norwegian prime minister and foreign minister on the sidelines of the Oslo Forum.

The AEOI chief said he would also exchange views with political experts from different countries and a number of other participants at the forum on the future of the nuclear accord after the U.S. exit.

More than 100 of the world’s most prominent armed conflict mediators, peace process actors, high-level decision-makers and eminent thinkers participated at the conference.

Co-hosted jointly by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), the forum brings together practitioners and experts for informal discussions to reflect on current peacemaking trends and challenges.