Iran nuclear chief in good condition after successful surgeries

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi is in good condition after undergoing two successful surgeries, Iran’s Health Minister Hassan Hashemi says.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Hashemi added that the Iranian nuclear chief, who has played a key part in the recent talks with the P5+1 countries, was admitted to a hospital in Tehran on Monday for abdominal and intestine tests.

Salehi had a colonoscopy and underwent a biopsy test, which, after some intestinal secretions, were followed by pain, the minister said.

Iran’s health minister added that Salehi is now in good condition and has been admitted to the hospital’s ICU for further care.

He hoped the official would be discharged from hospital within the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the AEOI Behrouz Kamalvandi told IRNA and the IRIB on Monday that Salehi underwent an operation after doctors said “the colitis” in his intestine had to be removed.

Kamalvandi also said doctors performed a successful surgery on his large intestine.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the head of the Department of the Environment, Masoumeh Ebtekar and member of the Expediency Council Mohammad Reza Aref visited Salehi at the hospital on Tuesday.

Salehi, 66, holds a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has played a major role in the technical talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries that helped pave the way for a mutual understanding the two sides reached in Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 2.

During Iran-P5+1 nuclear negotiations, the AEOI chief held several rounds of talks with US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.