Sanctions may slow down Iran's nuclear program, but not to stop it: atomic chief

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali-Akbar Salehi said Wednesday that sanctions against Iran may slow down the country's nuclear program, but will not stop it, the local ISNA news agency reported.

"If the aim of sanctions is to prevent Iran's nuclear activities ... we should say the sanctions cannot affect Iran's nuclear activities (significantly). They may slow down the work, but will not stop the (nuclear) activities. This is something certain," Salehi was quoted as saying.

Salehi's comments were the first made by Iranian officials to acknowledge that Iran may suffer the impact of the UN and U.S.- imposed sanctions.

U.S. President Barack Obama last Thursday signed a new sanction bill against Iran into law, describing it as "striking at the heart" of the Iranian government's nuclear ability.

On June 9, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution, imposing the fourth round of sanctions on Iran since 2006.

The United States and other Western countries worry that Tehran may obtain the uranium fuel needed for nuclear weapons by the same process to purify uranium. The Iranian government insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Source: Xinhua