TEHRAN -- Iran’s nuclear chief says preparations are underway for a visit by officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Islamic Republic in the near future upon a demand by the UN nuclear agency.
Muhammad Eslami, who heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), was asked by reporters on Wednesday about a possible visit by IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi and other officials of the agency.
He said the IAEA has “shown willingness” for such a visit, which is slated to take place following New Year holidays.
Iran and the IAEA have been locked in a dispute over what the latter claims to be nuclear activities at “undeclared sites” in Iran.
Tehran rejects the claims, which it says are made under the influence of Israel and its allies.
The row has been a major stumbling block in talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.
Elsewhere, Eslami referred to Iran’s efforts to boost the application of nuclear technology in the medical sector and treatment of patients suffering from cancer.
The top Iranian nuclear official said the country is working on plans to produce medicine based on heavy water.
Annually, one million patients benefit from the country’s capacities in the field of radiopharmaceuticals, Eslami said.
“The important message in this matter is that if we had not

possessed nuclear fuel cycle, we would not have been able to produce radiopharmaceuticals in the country,” he added.
Eslami said the fact that the sole Iranian company producing radiopharmaceuticals has become subject to foreign sanctions indicates that those imposing sanctions do not place any value on the lives of people.
Eslami has said Iran aims to become a global hub for manufacturing deuterium drugs.
“In a not too distant future we will turn into a hub for manufacturing drugs based on deuterium which are good alternatives to chemical drugs and have lower side effects in comparison (to those drugs),” he said recently.
The AEOI launched a second phase of its deuterium production unit in Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility in central Iran in April 2021.