TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Salehi, director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said on Sunday that Iranian engineers have mastered the nuclear technology and this industry is not dependent on any other country.

The technology does not depend on others and the country can develop it constantly, he told reporters, according to ISNA.

Elsewhere, he said that Iran will decide on staying in the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, based on its interests.

President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. unilaterally from the 2015 nuclear deal in May and ordered sanctions against Iran. The first round of sanctions went into force on August 6 and the second round, which targets Iran’s oil exports and banks, were snapped back on November 4.

In an interview with the European Council on Foreign Relations published on January 11, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that the EU is working with the rest of the international community to keep alive the landmark nuclear agreement.

The Iran nuclear deal “has so far been implemented in full, as certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency in 13 consecutive reports,” she noted.

NA/PA