Iran’s newly-elected President, Masoud Pezeshkian, has reappointed Mohammad Eslami, 67, as head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI). Eslami was first appointed to the post by late President Ebrahim Raisi in 2021. In 2018, he served as Transport & Urban Development Minister under President Hassan Rouhani and before that was governor of Mazandaran.
Eslami has a degree in civil engineering the University of Detroit in Michigan and a master’s degree from the University of Toledo in Ohio. He also has a MBA Global Aeronautics Management degree from the University of Tehran.
His work experience includes various positions in the defence, aircraft and aerospace industries as well as in urban planning & architecture and scientific research institutions.
During his three years heading the AEOI, he introduced a number of new policies and approaches. He promoted interaction with the scientific community and industry leaders to commercialise nuclear knowledge and technology. He worked to further the programme to eventually produce 20,000 MWe of nuclear power and paid special attention to developing nuclear medicine including isotope production. Priorities were localisation of nuclear fuel production and development of both power and research reactor technology as well as increasing heavy water production.
After listing Eslami’s achievements and targets in detail, ISNA concluded: “Mohammad Eslami … has always believed in the development and progress of the country based on domestic power and reliance on domestic expertise. We must wait and see whether his plan for the next four years … is a continuation of the previous programme or whether there will be changes.”
