Iran has unveiled some deuterated compounds produced at its heavy water reactor, which is located near Arak in Markazi Province.
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Director Ali Akbar Salehi, who is also the acting foreign minster, and ambassadors to the International Atomic Energy Agency from Egypt, Cuba, Syria, Algeria, Venezuela, Oman, and the Arab League attended the unveiling ceremony on Saturday.
The ambassadors traveled to Iran in response to a letter inviting them to visit the country’s nuclear facilities.
Some members of the UN Security Council and the European Union had also been invited to visit Iran’s nuclear sites but decided not to send representatives.
The deuterated compounds have numerous applications in the fields of chemistry, agriculture, biology, medicine, and pharmaceuticals.
They can be utilized in medicine in various ways. For instance, they can enhance the effectiveness of some drugs. They can also be used in the production of fiberoptic cables and some polymers.
In addition, deuterated compounds can be used as solvents in tracing new synthetic chemicals through the nuclear magnetic resonance technique.
Salehi said Iran has produced five types of deuterated compound so far and the country’s experts plan to produce five to ten more in the future.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said the Islamic Republic of Iran is the first country to invite foreigners to visit its nuclear facilities.
The visits by diplomats and Iran’s clean record in its nuclear activities show the country is being honest about its peaceful nuclear program, he added.
However, Salehi criticized certain Western countries for not accepting Iran’s invitation to visit its nuclear facilities.
On the one hand, the West accuses Iran of conducting clandestine nuclear activities, but on the other hand, they refuse to come to Iran to visit its nuclear sites, he stated.
In fact, the Western countries actually undermined their position through their rejection of Iran’s invitation, he noted.
Tehran Times