Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI, Sazman-e Enerji-ye Atomi-ye Iran) is the state body overseeing Iran's civil nuclear programme, including uranium enrichment, fuel fabrication, and the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Founded under the Shah in 1974, it continued after the revolution and became the primary institutional interface with the IAEA for inspections and safeguards. Its head is a Vice President of Iran. Key heads include Gholam Reza Aghazadeh (1997–2011), Ali Akbar Salehi (2009–2013, 2015–2021), Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani (2011–2013), and Mohammad Eslami (2021–present). The AEOI administers the enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow, the heavy water reactor at Arak, and the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan. It was the formal counterpart in JCPOA negotiations and continues enriching uranium to 60% purity under the collapsed JCPOA framework. The Amad Project — the clandestine nuclear weapons research programme led by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh — operated in parallel to and largely hidden from the AEOI's formal structures.