During a visit to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) on Monday, Araghchi highlighted Iran’s significant efforts to advance its nuclear industry, emphasizing that the country will never relinquish its rights in this sector.
He praised Iran’s remarkable progress in nuclear technology, which has grown into a substantial industry advancing rapidly across various fields.
Araghchi pointed out that Iran's nuclear capabilities extend beyond uranium enrichment to include diverse applications in medicine, health, environmental protection, agriculture, and industrial sectors.
He stated that the West's main concern lies not in the potential for Iran to develop nuclear weapons, but rather in the country's advancements in nuclear science.
He explained that Iran has excelled in a “very complex and sensitive” scientific domain that the West seeks to monopolize.
The top Iranian diplomat explained that this is why Western powers have used nuclear weapons as a pretext for their actions.
Araghchi remarked that for over 20 years, Iran has engaged in negotiations and dialogue with the West, highlighting that if the intention to develop nuclear weapons had existed, it would have been realized by now, given the country's capabilities.
He reaffirmed the peaceful nature of Iran's peaceful nuclear program, adding, "Wherever necessary, we have built trust and cooperated with international organizations and the International Atomic Energy Agency, but it is crystal clear that they [the West] are seeking pretexts."
The IAEA has carried out about a dozen inspections in Iran since the Israeli-US war in mid-June. However, the UN nuclear watchdog announced last week it had not been given access to nuclear facilities such as Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, which the United States bombed on June 22 in a clear violation of international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the IAEA inspectors visited Iranian nuclear sites last week.
“As long as we are a member of the NPT and committed to the Safeguard Agreement, we are fully aware of our commitments, and just last week, IAEA inspectors visited several nuclear facilities, including the Tehran Research Reactor,” Baghaei added.
During a meeting with senior managers at the AEOI earlier this month, President Masoud Pezeshkian emphasized that the country’s expansion of its peaceful nuclear industry is aimed at enhancing the nation’s welfare, not acquiring weapons.
“However, the nuclear industry is a vast collection of scientific and industrial capacities and only a tiny fraction of its disproportionate and inhumane consequences relates to bomb-making,” he added.
Press TV