“Father of Iran’s nuclear technology” dies

Etemad was the head of the AEOI before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and is credited for being the founder of the organization.

He continued his studies in electrical engineering at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland before the revolution.

Later, Etemad worked at the Atomic Research Center of the Swiss Federal Institute. The result of his research was a doctoral thesis that he submitted to the Swiss Polytechnic University and was consulted by the International Atomic Energy Agency due to his expertise.

He returned to Iran in 1965 and a year later established the Atomic Energy Office of the Planning and Budget Organization and was tasked with managing it, a position he held until 1967.

In 1968, Etemad was appointed as the first head of the Institute for Scientific and Educational Research and Planning, the Iranian equivalent of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France.

In 1974, he took over as head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran after founding the organization. Etemad served as the director of the AEOI until 1978.

Mohammsd Eslami, Deputy Iranian President and head of the the AEOI, as well as Ali Akbar Salehi, former director of the organization, have offered condolences over Etemad’s passing, saying with his unparalleled foresight, sincerity, and honesty, he laid such a solid foundation in the nuclear industry and technology that now Iran proudly and forcefully carries forward all of this precious legacy.

Etemad lived in France at the time of his death.