TEHRAN – Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said on Wednesday that the inspectors of the UN nuclear watchdog were expelled from Iran for their “hardline political behavior.”

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Eslami said, “The dismissed inspectors were from three European countries that regularly demonstrated harsh political behaviors, and we removed the inspectors from those countries from the list.”

He also said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has dozens of designated inspectors in Iran. “The Agency has 127 approved inspectors in Iran, and the people who have been fired have not come to Iran for several years; on the other hand, this number [of dismissed inspectors] is not a [big] number compared to the number of official inspectors,” he said, according to state news agency IRNA. 

Eslami continued, “The kerfuffle in this case is caused by the political behavior and psychological operations of these countries, which constantly say that Iran should unilaterally implement the provisions of the JCPOA while they do nothing.”

The Iranian official also commented on the current differences between the IAEA and Iran regarding the alleged undeclared activities in the past. “That now they once again extract some cases and information from within the JCPOA and put pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran derives from the same political current of pressure to create disturbance and get concessions and this is an illegal and oppressive act.”

Iran plans to hold international nuclear meeting in Isfahan in May 2024

Eslami also said that Iran intends to hold an international nuclear conference in Isfahan in May 2024. “Last March, during Grossi's trip, we informed him that starting next year, we want to make this conference international with the participation of the Agency, and he also clearly stated that they will cooperate,” Eslami said.

He added, “Next year, we will hold this conference as the first international nuclear conference of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Isfahan for three days.”

Earlier, Eslami said the nuclear achievements of Iran serve humanity. He made the remarks at a meeting with the guests of the 37 International Conference of Muslim Unity held in Tehran.

Eslami said Iran does not seek nuclear weapons and has always pursued peaceful nuclear energy, according to state news agency IRNA. 

He also said Iran is ready to share its nuclear achievements with non-hostile countries around the world.

“Iran’s nuclear technology achievements are in line with peace and service to humanity, and all of these activities are carried out based on the standards and regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and within the framework of the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) and NPT and are pursued with the Agency’s continuous inspections,” he explained.