Establishment of new civilization in 2nd phase of the Islamic Revolution (4)

Nuclear energy has provided mankind with a significant breakthrough in modern science, and the use of this vital source of power for peaceful use, is among the principled positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which strongly opposes the misuse of nuclear technology for destructive purposes, as is done by the unethical big powers of the world.

Today the importance of nuclear knowhow is irrefutable and can be considered as a main element and a cornerstone for sustainable development. Access to peaceful nuclear knowhow is the legal and inalienable right of any country which has joined the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and is committed to its clauses.

On April 9, 2006 Iranian scientists succeeded in fully mastering the nuclear fuel cycle on the laboratory scale, and consequently the day has been named in Iran as the National Day for Nuclear Technology,

Iran subsequently informed the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the resounding success of its scientists and experts in mastering the technology for uranium enrichment, and manufactured a series of centrifuges, thus joining this exclusive club, but with a big difference, since the Islamic Republic, unlike other nuclear powers, opposes manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.

Peaceful nuclear technology has played a vital role in growth and development of industry, agriculture, and the field of medicine. Usage of radio-isotopes in diagnosis and treatment of refractory diseases; usage of nuclear energy in generation of electricity and production of materials of especial quality and durability, in addition to high-quality agricultural products, are among the many functions and applications of nuclear knowhow in Iran.

In the post-Islamic Revolution era, Iran has taken major strides in this arena. These resounding accomplishments have made international circles admit that Iran holds the 28^th spot among producers of nuclear energy across the world.

Iran is currently enlisted among the pioneering countries in production of radio-medicines and development of modern medicines.

Head of Iran Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, notes that Iran is among the pioneering countries in this domain in West Asia. The radio-medicines produced in Iran are exported to fifteen countries, such as Egypt, India, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and a number of European countries.

In its path to progress in the nuclear field, Iran has endured significant political, legal, and economic costs, because of the avowed hostility of the US, which has tried several tricks but failed to deter the Islamic Republic from its goal, including the martyrdom of four Iranian nuclear scientists by American-Israeli mercenaries.

Ali Akbar Salehi notes: "There was a time, when for ten years, we wanted to buy 20% enriched uranium from abroad. We wrote letters to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and they set a number of conditions for us. The then IAEA director showed us the secret letters which the American and Russians had written stating several conditions for our purchase of 20% enriched fuel. Upon returning to Iran, I informed the then Iranian president about these conditions, noting that they do not want to give us 20% enriched fuel, and that we should roll up our sleeves and produce the 20%-enriched fuel ourselves, otherwise the Tehran University reactor would come to a halt and production of radio-medicines would face hurdles. The then Iranian president, Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, instructed us to do so, and therefore we began. "  

At the time, they said that Iran was bluffing and cannot produce 20%-enriched uranium. However, Iran successfully accomplished this task in less than two years. Currently, the Tehran reactor operates with 20%-enriched fuel.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is ranked fifth worldwide in regard to mastery of uranium enrichment knowhow on the industrial scale, and has gained access to this sophisticated technology. Iran's access to complicated and specialized phases of peaceful nuclear industry, including UCF installations and uranium enrichment has led to development and growth of industries related to nuclear knowhow, in Iran.

The US and its European allies, as of the very beginning of Iran's peaceful nuclear achievements, were intent on preventing Iran’s success.

 On May 8, 2018, the US president, Donald Trump, breached the 2015 Geneva international accord on Iran’s right to nuclear energy by unilaterally pulling out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). He then re-imposed the illegal sanctions on Iran, which is actually economic terrorism.

Meanwhile, European countries, China, and Russia, in the aftermath of US withdrawal from JCPOA, called on Iran not to pull out of this nuclear agreement. Iran accepted this request, conditioned upon the fulfillment and maintenance of Iran's interests in JCPOA, but reserving the right as per the clauses of this accord, to gradually restrict its cooperation.

Currently, Islamic Republic of Iran is among the thirteen countries in the world which possess nuclear fuel cycle.

Iran has always put emphasis on peaceful usage of nuclear energy, and the senior officials of the country have on several occasions announced that nuclear weapons and bombs have no place in Iran's defense doctrine, since as per the laws of Islam, these are haraam or religiously forbidden.

Nonetheless, the US administration continues to baselessly accuse Iran of intending to produce nuclear weapons, despite the fact that the US is the world’s most dangerously nuclear armed country with a criminal record of having used atomic bombs to destroy two cities of Japan when the Second World War was almost over.

MR/AS/ME