Fereydoon Abbasi
Photo: Reuters
Iran names new nuclear emergency agency chief
Tehran's Atomic Energy Chief Fereydoon Abbasi, who survived 2010 assassination attempt, promoted; no announcement as to whether he'll pull double duty
Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi, who heads Iran's
Atomic Energy Organization, has been named head of the Islamic Republic's Crisis Management Center for Nuclear and Radiation Accidents, the Iranian military announced Tuesday.
Abbasi, one of Iran's top nuclear scientists, narrowly escaped an attempt on his life in 2010.
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According to a Wednesday report in The New York Times, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency considers Abbasi to be a key figure in Iran’s nuclear program.
Last week – prior to the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers in Istanbul – Abbasi was widely quoted as suggesting a compromise was "not out of reach" regarding Iran's uranium enrichment program, which is a central issue in the nuclear dispute.
On UNSC 'blacklist'
Abbasi's role in Tehran's nuclear program has landed him on the UN Security Council's blacklist, subjecting him to the various sanctions imposed on Iran over its refusal to suspend all uranium enrichment.
It late 2010, Abbasi survived an assassination attempt in the Iranian capital: A motorcycle assassin slapped a magnetized bomb onto his vehicle, killing a fellow nuclear scientist and wounding him.
Iran accused Israel of behind the "terror attack."
The report of Abbasi's appointment, carried by Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency, did not say whether he would continue as head of the Atomic Energy Organization as well
Fars said Abbasi would "Oversee taking preparatory measures to decrease the impacts of radiation accidents in times of crisis."
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