Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday appointed a new chief of the nation's Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), tapping Mohammed Eslami, a former housing and transport minister, for the job.
Eslami has been blacklisted by the United Nations for “being engaged in, directly associated with or providing support for Iran’s proliferation of sensitive nuclear activities or for the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems.” According to the UN, the minister was involved in what is described as the "procurement of prohibited items, goods, equipment, materials and technology."
Eslami was also previously the managing director of the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company and deputy chief of the Aerospace Industries Organization, among other top managerial posts, according to Tehran Times.
The minister has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Detroit University, and a master's in the same field from Ohio University.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi walks during a meeting with head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali-Akbar Salehi, in Tehran, Iran February 21, 2021
© REUTERS / WANA NEWS AGENCY
Eslami takes over after Ali Akbar Salehi, a scientist involved in negotiations that led to the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 - a nuclear deal between Iran and P5+1 countries (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany), which was undermined after former US President Donald Trump unilaterally exited the deal in 2018. After Trump's withdrawal, Tehran stepped away from its nuclear commitments.
Currently, negotiations in Vienna on a possible restoration of the deal are stalled, with the last round of talks wrapping up on 20 June.