TEHRAN – The deputy chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has condemned the double standards of the International Atomic Energy (IAEA), saying the body allows Western countries to politicize nuclear energy and use it as a political tool. 

“Nuclear technology is a scientific and technical matter, but it has been politicized in regards to Iran,” noted Pezhman Shirmardi on Monday. 

He said that Iran is the country with the most comprehensive cooperation with the IAEA. But that hasn’t stopped the organization from pursuing more ways to impose restrictions on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program. 

“Nuclear energy, according to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), belongs to everyone and any country can have peaceful nuclear activities. However, the IAEA imposes more restrictions and surveillance on our country, which is seeking peaceful nuclear energy to solve societal problems.”

The nuclear official added that there are absolutely no inspections of the nuclear activities of the Israeli regime. He said, unlike Iran, Israel is not a signatory to the NTP, and that has allowed it to have as many nuclear warheads as it desires. 

“There is a double standard in dealing with countries regarding nuclear issues. All of Iran's nuclear activities are in the path of peace. But we are under intense inspections by the Agency. On the other hand, the regime has no commitments and there is no oversight,” the AEOI deputy director stressed.

He also pointed to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. and asked why Washington has never been held accountable for its use of weapons of mass destruction. “Many Western countries began to develop nuclear weapons after those events,” he said.

Shirmardi also underlined that Iran is planning to use nuclear energy to fulfill several of the country’s needs. According to the official, Iran’s nuclear technology will especially help the nation strengthen its capabilities in the fields of agriculture and medicine. 

MHA/PA