Israel’s first missile strike on the city of Isfahan during the 12-day war targeted the city’s fuel plate production facility for manufacturing radiopharmaceuticals, says Iran’s nuclear chief.
“The first site in Isfahan that the Zionist regime targeted with missile strikes was the plant [producing] fuel for the manufacture of radiopharmaceuticals, which means the very things that were essential for the people and the country’s progress were attacked at the very first stage,” Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Thursday.
He added that the 12 days of the Israeli-US war in mid-June and the ensuing events showed that Iran’s nuclear industry is merely a pretext as they oppose the Islamic Republic’s advancement.
He emphasized that the statements of officials from the three European countries – Britain, France and Germany –during the Tuesday session of the UN Security Council clearly showed that the true aim is to halt Iran’s progress.
At a UNSC meeting on Tuesday, the European parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — the UK, France, and Germany — insisted that Resolution 2231, which endorsed the deal, remains in force although its legal lifespan has already expired.
All of the resolution provisions expired on October 18, 2025, in accordance with its own termination clause.
The European trio sought to legitimize their illegal actions in reinstating the revoked resolutions, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, who called the meeting of the Security Council “merely a political move” by the three European countries.
“The real issue and problem is Iran’s progress, not nuclear weapons,” which they falsely accuse Iran of producing, Eslami further said.
The AEOI chief stressed the importance of advancing on the path of knowledge and promoting nuclear science and technology as the driving force of science and innovation.
According to the US national security strategy document, artificial intelligence, nuclear technology, and quantum are the fundamental goals for advancement, he said, adding, “If these three [items] are essential for the US progress, then they must be essential for other countries as well.”
He further stressed the need to enhance synergy both in the area of radiopharmaceuticals and deuterium as well as heavy water to advance treatment methods, noting that great progress has been made in medicine and healthcare.
