Nuclear chief: Israeli infiltration, sabotage drove Iran towards nuclear self-sufficiency

“The complexity of nuclear technologies is extremely high, and their equipment and infrastructure are not easily obtainable, particularly under conditions where supply routes are tainted by Zionist infiltration and sabotage,” Mohammad Eslami noted, addressing an event in Tehran on Wednesday.

“For this reason, Iran was compelled to create the entire chain of research, design, construction, testing, and technological maturation internally; a path that has now borne fruit,” he added.

The official noted that Iran today was facing a situation where the enemy, employing all its might, tools, facilities, and capacities, was trying to bring the nation down. “The target is not just the territory, but the Iranian people themselves,” he underlined.

Still addressing enemies’ efforts at imposing their interests throughout the world, including on the Islamic Republic, the AEOI chief cited the United States’ underway push, as outlined in Washington’s 2026 National Security Strategy document, to realize its interests either through diplomacy or force.

Over the years, he added, such drives have seen adversaries target Iran’s nuclear industry through a whole host of aggressive measures, including accusations of militarization, numerous illegal sanctions, assassinations of nuclear scientists, repeated threats of military attack, and actually bombing of the country’s nuclear sites.

In spite of these campaigns, however, the country now possesses a homegrown and dependable nuclear industry, the official said. “Today, the AEOI and the Iranian people possess an efficient, indigenous, and reliable nuclear industry.”

Eslami linked Iran’s scientific and technological advances to its Islamic Revolution and leadership.

“Thanks to the Islamic Revolution, the guidance of [the late founder of the Islamic Republic] Imam Khomeini and [his successor] Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and relying on the determination of young, knowledgeable, and committed forces, Iran has reached a leading level in the fields of modern science and technology,” the official stated.

He described the nuclear sector as one of the clearest examples of that progress.

Highlighting civilian applications, Eslami referred to the contributions that are made by the country’s peaceful nuclear energy activities to medical and agricultural sectors.

“Today, Iran ranks among the leading countries in the production of radiopharmaceuticals, and in addition to meeting domestic needs, its products are also in demand by other countries; a capacity that has played a vital role, particularly in cancer treatment,” he said.

“Each gram of heavy water derivatives is worth tens of thousands of dollars, and this field is a real example of a knowledge-based economy; a position that enemies cannot tolerate and do not want Iran to hold as a reliable actor among the main global players.”

In his concluding remarks, Eslami referred to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in southern Iran, hailing that the facility had entered its eleventh year of stable operation.

The plant has shown that the belief in absolute dependence on foreign partnership can be broken, and that Iran has the ability to consolidate and develop its strategic infrastructure, he said.