In comments at a meeting of the task force on special projects, held on Saturday, Mohammad Reza Aref said Iran has repeatedly and practically demonstrated over past decades that it seeks only peaceful nuclear uses.

He added that Western countries acted poorly toward Iran’s peaceful program, noting that Iran’s advances in nuclear medicine and radiopharmaceuticals have been an appropriate response to those misjudgments.

Referring to Iran’s 20,000-megawatt nuclear power plant development plan, Aref noted that Western hostility subjected Iran’s nuclear activities to political and biased treatment.

He said the world has now recognized that Iran intends to benefit from all peaceful advantages of nuclear energy and has never pursued non-peaceful applications, which he emphasized “have no place in the doctrine of the Islamic Republic.”

The vice president stated that expanding nuclear power to 20,000 MW by 2041 is an undeniable national necessity.

Nuclear fuel is among the cleanest and safest energy sources, and Iran must push ahead with the plan, particularly in power plants being developed with domestic capabilities, Aref stated.

MNA/Tasnim