Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi delivers a speech during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan September 17, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Didor Sadulloev

i24 News – Iran will continue nuclear development activities as talks to revive Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers remain stalled, President Ebrahim Raisi said Saturday.

Speaking in a ceremony marking Iran’s national day of nuclear technology, the conservative Islamist said his administration will support an acceleration in research of peaceful nuclear technology.

“Our knowledge and technology in the nuclear field is not reversible. Iran’s (continuation of) research in peaceful nuclear fields will not depend on others’ demands or viewpoints,” Raisi was quoted as saying by regime media.

The US and Israel are concerned that Iran could be closer to a nuclear weapon.

The nuclear deal collapsed four years ago when former president Donald Trump withdrew the United States and imposed crushing sanctions on Iran. In the meantime, Iran accomplished a significant expansion of its nuclear program.

While Iran has insisted that its nuclear program has had peaceful purposes, US and Israel dismiss the claim.