Fereydoon Abbasi
Encyclopedia
Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani (Persian
: فریدون عباسی ; born 11 July 1958) is an Iranian nuclear scientist and current Vice President
and Head of Atomic Energy Organization
.
and has reportedly been a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. According to Mashreghnews, an Iranian news website, he holds a PhD in nuclear physics and did nuclear research at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). Prior to his appointment as head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), he chaired the physics department at Tehran's Imam Hossein University
, which has been linked to the IRGC and work on nuclear weaponization.
According to the same report, the IAEA has information that Abbasi-Davani was the head of the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP), which was a follow-on organization to the Physics Research Center. Both of the organizations acted as fronts for scientific work on a possible Iranian nuclear weapons program.
(also designated by the UN).
, who also taught at Shahid Beheshti University
.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 13 February 2011 to succeed Ali Akbar Salehi
. The IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, presented a report to its board in May 2011 that laid out new information on possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear programme. The director of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, recently wrote to Abbasi-Davani to reiterate the agency's concerns about the existence of a possible military dimension to Iran's nuclear programme and stressing the importance of Iran clarifying these issues.
The report stated: "Based on the Agency's continued study of information which the Agency has acquired from many member states and through its own efforts, the Agency remains concerned about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed nuclear related activities involving military related organisations, including activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile... there are indications that certain of these activities may have continued beyond 2004."
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
: فریدون عباسی ; born 11 July 1958) is an Iranian nuclear scientist and current Vice President
Vice President of Iran
Vice President of Iran is defined by article 124 of the Iranian constitution, as anyone appointed by the President to lead an organization related to Presidential affairs. , there are 12 Vice Presidents in Iran...
and Head of Atomic Energy Organization
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran is the main official body responsible for implementing regulations and operating nuclear energy installations in Iran....
.
Academic and Early Career
Abbasi was a professor of nuclear physics at Shahid Beheshti UniversityShahid Beheshti University
Shahid Beheshti University was formerly The National University of Iran . The university's name was changed during the cultural revolution in Iranian universities, 1980-82. It is located in Evin District and extends into Velenjak District in northwestern Tehran, Iran, on a main campus of...
and has reportedly been a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. According to Mashreghnews, an Iranian news website, he holds a PhD in nuclear physics and did nuclear research at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). Prior to his appointment as head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), he chaired the physics department at Tehran's Imam Hossein University
Imam Hossein University
The Imam Hossein University is a public university of engineering, science, and military in Iran.The university was opened in1986. The university is one of the top ranking industrial universities in Iran. It is located in Tehran, Shahid Babaei Highway near Tehran Pars Fourth Square, and Hakimiyeh...
, which has been linked to the IRGC and work on nuclear weaponization.
Links to Iranian Nuclear Weaponization Programme
Abbasi-Davani has regularly been linked to Iran's efforts to make the nuclear weapon, a process called weaponization. According to an ISIS report citing an expert close to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Abbasi-Davani was a key scientist in the Iranian covert nuclear weapons program headed by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a strong supporter of Iran's nuclear weapons program. Abbasi-Davani personally directed work to calculate the yield of a nuclear weapon as well as work on high energy neutron sources, this expert added.According to the same report, the IAEA has information that Abbasi-Davani was the head of the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP), which was a follow-on organization to the Physics Research Center. Both of the organizations acted as fronts for scientific work on a possible Iranian nuclear weapons program.
Designation by the UN
Abbasi is "listed in an annex to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1747 of March 24 2007, as a person involved in Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile activities". This resolution imposes an asset freeze and travel notification requirements. Abbasi-Davani is described as a "Senior Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) Scientist with links to the Institute of Applied Physics, working closely with Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-MahabadiMohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi is an Iranian officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and a Professor of physics at the Imam Hussein University, Tehran...
(also designated by the UN).
Assasination attempt
On 29 November 2010, he survived an assassination attempt. "The ... scientist is on a UN list of individuals under sanction for suspected links to secret nuclear activities". A separate bomb attack the same day killed another scientist, Dr. Majid ShahriariMajid Shahriari
Majid Shahriari was a nuclear engineer who worked with the Iranian Atomic Energy Commission.He specialized in neutron transport, a phenomenon that lies at the heart of nuclear chain reactions in reactors and bombs. According to The Guardian, he "had no known links to banned nuclear work"...
, who also taught at Shahid Beheshti University
Shahid Beheshti University
Shahid Beheshti University was formerly The National University of Iran . The university's name was changed during the cultural revolution in Iranian universities, 1980-82. It is located in Evin District and extends into Velenjak District in northwestern Tehran, Iran, on a main campus of...
.
Appointment as head of the AEOI
He was appointed as Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) by PresidentPresident of Iran
The President of Iran is the highest popularly elected official in, and the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran; although subordinate to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state...
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on 13 February 2011 to succeed Ali Akbar Salehi
Ali Akbar Salehi
Ali Akbar Salehi is an Iranian politician, diplomat and academic and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs since 13 December 2010. Previous to his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran from 16 July 2009 to 13 December 2010...
. The IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, presented a report to its board in May 2011 that laid out new information on possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear programme. The director of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, recently wrote to Abbasi-Davani to reiterate the agency's concerns about the existence of a possible military dimension to Iran's nuclear programme and stressing the importance of Iran clarifying these issues.
The report stated: "Based on the Agency's continued study of information which the Agency has acquired from many member states and through its own efforts, the Agency remains concerned about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed nuclear related activities involving military related organisations, including activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile... there are indications that certain of these activities may have continued beyond 2004."
External links
- Fereidoun Abbasi-Davani (Iran Watch, 2007)
- New Hints Emerge of Iranian Nuke Drive:Experts (Global Security Newswire, July 6, 2011)
- Iran's nuclear steps deepen Western suspicions (Reuters, 6 July 2011)