Iran among top producers of radiopharmaceuticals, high-quality heavy water: Nuclear chief

Iran's nuclear chief says the country is among the top producers of radiopharmaceuticals and high-quality heavy water in the world despite the enemies' efforts to hinder Iran's progress.

Iran has succeeded in making great progress in developing the capacity of radiopharmaceuticals which can be used to treat cancer patients, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami said on Friday.

Iran is "among the top countries in the world in the field of manufacturing radiopharmaceutical and more than one million people use its products every year," he told a local ceremony in Fordow, Qom Province.

Iran now producing derivatives of heavy water: AEOI chief

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said Iran was ready to export the derivatives to other countries.

The Iranian nuclear chief further said the country has also succeeded in making considerable progress in producing heavy water and its derivatives and is now among the "best" countries in the world in this regard.

Iran used heavy water and its derivatives in the research and development sector and created appropriate capacities in new medicines and other industries, he explained.

He emphasized that Iran is among the few countries in the world that can produce high-quality heavy water.

The AEOI head criticized lack of commitment of the parties to the 2015 nuclear deal -- officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- for only claiming that they will help lift the sanctions against Iran but "they did not fulfill their duties in this regard at all."

However, Iran developed its nuclear capacity and is making progress "stronger than before," Eslami pointed out.

He said enemies seek to hinder Iran's progress because they know that modern technologies, particularly in the nuclear sector, will boost the country's power.

Iran has made remarkable progress in the nuclear industry despite the Western threats and sanctions regime. Tehran has always reiterated that its nuclear program is only meant for peaceful purposes.

In 2015, Iran proved the peaceful nature of its nuclear program to the world by signing the JCPOA, an agreement reached with six world states — namely the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. But, Washington’s unilateral withdrawal in May 2018 and its subsequent re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran left the future of the deal in limbo.

Negotiations between the parties to the deal kicked off in Vienna, Austria, in April 2021, with the intention of bringing the US back into the deal and putting an end to its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.

The discussions, however, have been at a standstill since August 2022 due to Washington’s insistence on not removing all of the anti-Iran sanctions and refusal to offer Tehran the necessary guarantees that it will not exit the agreement again.

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