TEHRAN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran's atomic chief said on Sunday the country will not abandon its domestically developed nuclear technology simply because a "bullying" power demands it.
President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami made the remarks at the International Conference on "Ecocide, A Silent War Crime" in the capital Tehran while stressing that the Iranian nation must not be deprived of its own scientific achievements owing to its refrainment from submitting to others' demands and imposed policies or acquiescing to their orders, according to a statement published on the AEOI's website.
He stressed that despite years of sanctions, pressure, acts of sabotage and war against Iran, the country has continued its progress.
Eslami pointed to the U.S. officials' frequent threats of attacking Iran's nuclear facilities with tactical or even atomic weapons, stressing that the Iranian nation will never surrender.
He also denounced the U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran's nuclear facilities, which are under the safeguards regime of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as the agency's failure to condemn those strikes.
Speaking on the sidelines of the same conference, AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi assured that Iran will pursue its national interests with power, the official news agency IRNA reported.
Kamalvandi emphasized that Iran's nuclear program is completely "peaceful and transparent" and has been under the IAEA's continuous supervision.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire was achieved between the warring parties on April 8. On June 18, Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war in the region on all fronts.
Under the MoU, the two countries were scheduled to hold negotiations within 60 days, ending on Aug. 17, to reach a final agreement on Iran's nuclear program and the removal of sanctions. However, the two sides failed to make sufficient progress toward a deal as tensions continued to escalate. ■
