Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Iran’s atomic energy organization head and vice president, Mohammad Eslami, has traveled to Moscow for talks with officials and to participate in the programs of Russia’s Atomic Energy Week, according to Russia’s state-run RIA news agency, which cited the Iranian embassy on Monday.
The UN Security Council decided not to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran, following a three-month process launched by three European countries to reimpose them. The countries accuse Tehran of failing to comply with a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at stopping the development of a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies having any such intentions, and Russia says it backs Tehran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy.
How does Russia justify Iran’s right to nuclear energy?
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, stated that Moscow supports Iran’s development of peaceful nuclear technology and wants Iran to maintain its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), even though the Iranian parliament has recently voted to suspend that cooperation.
Lavrov pointed out that it is important to respect the Iranian Supreme Leader’s declaration that Iran does not seek to develop nuclear weapons and emphasised Russia’s position that Iran only seeks means of nuclear power for peaceful purposes.
When did the Iranian scientists make a secret trip to Russia?
Financial Times reported that a group of Iranian scientists tied to Tehran’s nuclear weapons program made a secret trip to Russia in August 2024. They were looking for dual-use technologies that could have military uses, as shown in internal documents, emails, and travel records.
Headed by nuclear physicist Ali Kalvand, a top official in Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), a five-member delegation was led by a senior figure. The US government considers SPND a successor to Iran’s pre-2003 nuclear weapons program.
According to the indictment, Kalvand and his team, which included members of the Iranian procurement firm DamavandTec and a military counterintelligence officer, met with Russian researchers and toured companies that specialise in sensitive technologies.
