DUBAI: Iran has appointed a new head of country’s Atomic Energy Organization someone with no expertise in the field, local media reports said.
Mohammad Eslami, who previously served as housing and transport minister, replaced the nation’s most prominent nuclear scientist and US educated Ali Akbar Salehi.
Salehi, a former foreign minister and longtime head of the atomic agency, played a crucial role in diplomacy that led to the nuclear deal with world powers. The deal, now virtually defunct, bound Tehran to limits on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Eslami is a US-trained engineer and is believed to have ties to Iran’s military industry, having served as a deputy minister in the Defense Ministry’s research department. He also served as director of the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company and deputy chief of the Aerospace Industries Organization.