Iran’s Atomic Energy Chief Calls Fusion a Future Energy Priority

**TEHRAN —** Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization chief, Mohammad Eslami, has described nuclear fusion as a strategic technology for the future and said Iran cannot afford to fall behind countries investing in the field.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the unveiling and launch of four knowledge-based achievements, Eslami said fusion energy was an area that required sustained national planning, domestic capabilities and broader cooperation among research institutions, universities and technology companies.

“The fusion project, which is considered the energy of the future and in which all developed countries are investing, is not something we can neglect or allow ourselves to fall behind,” Eslami said, according to the Iranian Students News Agency report.

The remarks were delivered during a ceremony held on Wednesday, 4 Shahrivar, as part of Iran’s Government Week observances. The event included the launch of plasma-diagnostic systems for tokamak facilities and a non-destructive testing laboratory.

### A push to accelerate the national fusion plan

Eslami said Iran’s path toward future technologies must be pursued more quickly and with greater concentration. He argued that the country should create achievements not only for current needs but also for future generations.

He said Iran could not rely on outside assistance in developing fusion technology and would therefore need to draw on its domestic scientific and industrial resources. In his view, the country should create opportunities for researchers, technology companies and other capable partners to work with the Atomic Energy Organization.

Eslami also called for the national fusion plan to move forward at a faster pace so that research and development efforts can ultimately produce usable systems and products. He said the plan should be advanced through what he described as the “open innovation” model, which the organization began implementing in 2023.

Under that model, he said, a network of knowledge-based companies has been identified and brought into the organization’s technology ecosystem. Eslami added that teams working in nuclear fusion had moved beyond the stage of proving basic technologies and had entered phases involving the construction of systems, equipment and capabilities.

He said expanding this network could shorten the route to final products and help speed up the national program. The report referred to the Shams network as an instrument that could support the development of research during the initial stage of the initiative.

### Universities and skilled personnel

Eslami said progress in fusion would also depend on universities and the development of specialized personnel. The organization’s infrastructure, he said, was providing services to academic institutions so they could use those facilities in education and training.

He argued that Iran needed both professors and students working in the field while practical projects were being carried out. At the same time, university laboratories would need to be strengthened so that fusion research could gain momentum and knowledge-based companies could expand.

The comments place human-resource development alongside equipment and industrial capability as a central part of Iran’s stated fusion strategy. The report did not provide details about the number of researchers involved, the scale of the program’s budget or a timetable for reaching commercial energy production.

Eslami linked the national fusion program to broader state policies on nuclear-energy development, saying the relevant strategic framework had been issued in the 1990s. He said roughly 30 years had passed since those policies were announced and argued that any delay should be attributed to domestic shortcomings rather than to the country’s political system.

### Domestic capability amid pressure and restrictions

The Atomic Energy Organization chief presented the program as part of a broader effort to build domestic scientific and industrial capacity. He accused opponents of using what he called psychological operations, pressure, sanctions, conspiracies and acts of sabotage to impede Iran’s nuclear industry.

Eslami said such efforts had not prevented the organization from advancing and asserted that they would not do so in the future. He said the organization had developed industrial and technological capabilities that enabled it to provide products and services to different parts of the country and reduce dependence in several areas.

He also said that no one was cooperating with Iran in the fusion field, making self-reliance and the mobilization of domestic talent necessary. The report records these claims as Eslami’s assessment and does not independently verify the allegations concerning foreign obstruction or sabotage.

### Plasma diagnostics described as the “eyes” of fusion systems

Ali Norouzi, a deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization and managing director of Iran’s Advanced Technologies Company, provided further details about the technical achievements presented at the ceremony.

Norouzi said diagnostic projects were among the important projects included in a portfolio of 100 initiatives. He described diagnostic systems as the “eyes” of plasma, emphasizing their role in monitoring and controlling plasma in fusion research.

According to Norouzi, fusion plasma reaches temperatures of several million degrees Celsius. He said conventional diagnostic systems could not adequately examine such conditions and that specialized systems were required to measure properties including ion temperature, electron temperature, density and energy loss.

Norouzi also said these systems were subject to restrictions and were not readily obtainable. He stated that Iran had previously unveiled one diagnostic system and had launched three more during the ceremony. He added that a larger number of systems were now available for installation and use.

The systems unveiled or launched for tokamak plasma diagnostics were identified as a photoelectron system, a bolometric system and a charge-exchange system. The report did not provide technical specifications, performance measurements or independent assessments of the systems.

Norouzi said subsequent projects would include heating systems and that individual projects could involve multiple companies. He described a structure in which dozens of companies might participate in a single project, reflecting the organization’s effort to connect research, engineering and industrial capabilities.

### Non-destructive testing and industrial standards

The ceremony also marked the opening of a center for non-destructive testing, or NDT. Eslami said industries across the country required non-destructive testing in different forms and described the new center as a facility intended to provide assessment, qualification and skills training.

He said the center would be supported by specialized expertise in materials and could help expand the technology nationally. Although nuclear industries would be among its first users because of their high sensitivity and technical requirements, Eslami said the wider purpose was to strengthen industrial quality, technology development and the quality of products.

Eslami identified two factors as essential to quality and standardization: a comprehensive understanding of material properties and precision in measurement. Knowledge of materials, he said, was necessary to determine their capabilities, service life and expected behavior. Accurate measurement and strict adherence to tolerances were also required to produce standardized and competitive products.

The NDT center therefore forms part of the organization’s broader institutional-building effort, rather than being presented solely as a nuclear-sector facility. The report said it would offer evaluation, qualification and training services but did not state its capacity, accreditation status or operating schedule.

### A technology program still moving toward its final objective

The announcements reflect Iran’s stated intention to treat fusion as a long-term national technology priority. Eslami’s comments combine several elements: a faster research program, greater reliance on domestic capabilities, stronger links with universities, participation by knowledge-based companies and the creation of supporting infrastructure for testing and measurement.

The achievements presented at the event concern enabling systems and industrial capabilities, particularly plasma diagnostics and non-destructive testing. They do not, according to the available report, represent the completion of a commercial fusion-energy facility or demonstrate the production of net energy from fusion.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization says its fusion teams have progressed from proving technologies to building systems and developing capabilities. The next phase, as described by Eslami and Norouzi, will involve expanding the network of participating companies, improving university laboratories, training specialists and advancing heating and diagnostic technologies.

For now, the organization’s public message is that fusion is an area in which Iran intends to maintain a presence despite international restrictions and the absence of external cooperation. Whether the effort reaches a final energy product will depend on the pace of research, the strength of its industrial network and the ability to turn the systems now being developed into a mature national capability.