Science, Politics on Show as Iran's Nuclear Chief Dons Lab Coat
- Salehi spoke in state television interview late Wednesday
- Nuclear deal struck in 2015 is cracking after U.S. pullout
Ali Akbar Salehi
Photographer: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images
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In his laboratory coat and disposable shoe covers, Iran’s nuclear chief was every inch the scientist as he spoke about the latest additions to the nation’s atomic infrastructure. But it was hard to miss the politics that lay just behind the talk of centrifuges and enrichment.
“Iran’s capability in nuclear technology shows its scientific power,” Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said in a late night television interview on Wednesday, pointing to polished equipment stacked in the background. “We could fly ahead when it comes to enriching uranium -- if there weren’t a nuclear deal.”