Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani ( fa, فریدون عباسی دوانی; born 11 July 1958) is an Iranian nuclear scientist who was head of the Atomic Energy Organization from 2011 to 2013. He survived an assassination attempt in 2010, but was seriously wounded. He is a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

and

principlist Principlism is an applied ethics approach to the examination of moral dilemmas that is based upon the application of certain ethical principles. This approach to ethical decision-making has been adopted enthusiastically in many different professio ...

politician.

Early life and education

Abbasi was born in

Abadan Abadan ( fa, آبادان ''Ābādān'', ) is a city and capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, which is located in the southwest of Iran. It lies on Abadan Island ( long, 3–19 km or 2–12 miles wide). The island is bounded ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, on 11 July 1958."Iranian 'nuclear scientist' killed"
''Al Jazeera'', 29 November 2010 According to

Mashregh News Mashregh News ( fa, مشرق‌نیوز, ) is a non-governmental news website in Iran. It has been described as "close to the security and intelligence organizations" but till now there have been no clear documents to prove claims. It is based in T ...

, an Iranian news website, he holds a PhD in

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

Career

Abbasi was a professor of nuclear physics at Shahid Beheshti University and has reportedly been a member of Iran's

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

(IRGC) since the

1979 Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

. He reportedly did nuclear research at the

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) is the main Iranian government agency responsible for operating nuclear energy and nuclear fuel cycle installations in Iran. AEOI is the primary organization responsible for nuclear technology researc ...

(AEOI). Prior to his appointment as head of the AEOI he chaired the physics department at

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Imam Hossein University The Imam Hossein Comprehensive University (also referred to as IHU or Imam Hossein University, fa, دانشگاه امام حسین, ''Dāneshgāh-e Emām Hosein'') is a public university located in Tehran, Iran. The university was opened in 19 ...

.ISIS online report on Abbasi, 24 June 2011
/ref> Abbasi was appointed head of AEOI by then

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

on 13 February 2011 to succeed Ali Akbar Salehi. In his tenure the AEOI was unwilling to cooperate with the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

(IAEA). In fact in May 2011 Fereydoon Abbasi was the recipient of a letter from the IAEA, where its Director General Yukiya Amano reiterated the agency's concerns about the "existence of a possible military dimension" to Iran's nuclear programme and stressed the importance of clarifying these issues, requesting prompt access to relevant locations, equipment, documentation and persons. In June 2011 Abbasi replied evasively, so much so that the IAEA Director could only repeat his request for credible assurances. Abbasi was removed from office on 16 August 2013 and subsequently replaced by Salehi.

Controversy

Abbasi has regularly been linked to Iran's alleged efforts to make the nuclear weapon, a process called weaponization. According to an

Institute for Science and International Security The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) is a nonprofit, non-governmental institution to inform the public about "science and policy issues affecting international security". Founded in 1993, the group is led by founder and ...

report citing an expert close to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Abbasi was a key scientist in the alleged Iranian covert nuclear weapons program headed by

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Mahabadi ( fa, محسن فخری‌زاده مهابادی ;195827 November 2020) was an Iranian nuclear physicist and scientist. He was regarded as the chief of Iran's nuclear program. Born in Qom in 1958, Fakhrizadeh joined ...

, a strong supporter of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. Abbasi 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 had information that Abbasi 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 24 March 2007, as a person involved in Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile activities". This resolution imposes an asset freeze and travel notification requirements. Abbasi 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 Mahabadi (also designated by the UN).

Assassination attempt

On 29 November 2010, Abbasi was seriously wounded and narrowly survived an assassination attempt on a Tehran street, as a man on a motorbike attached a bomb to his car as he drove to work.Iranian nuclear scientist killed in motorbike attack - BBC News
/ref> A separate similar bomb attack the same day killed another scientist, Dr.

Majid Shahriari Majid Shahriari ( fa, مجید شهریاری, c. 1966 – 29 November 2010) was a top Iranian nuclear scientist and physicist who worked with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Career He specialized in neutron transport, a phenomenon tha ...

, who also taught at Shahid Beheshti University.''Bomb blast blamed on Israel and US kills Iran nuclear scientist''
''The Independent'', 30 November 2010

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbasi, Fereydoon 1958 births Living people People from Kazerun Iranian physicists International Atomic Energy Agency officials Imam Hossein University faculty Shahid Beheshti University alumni YEKTA Front politicians Presidents of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Iran–Israel proxy conflict Failed assassination attempts in Asia