Dr Ali Akbar Salehi was appointed Head of the Atomic Energy Organization in Iran in July 2009 after the resignation of Gholam Reza Aghazadeh. Salehi is an academic and politician who has been involved in developing Iran’s nuclear energy program since before the Islamic revolution in 1979. He transitioned to leading the Atomic Energy Organization after serving as a permanent representative of Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Salehi was part of the 2015 Geneva Iran P5+1 nuclear talks to discuss technical aspects of Iran’s nuclear program.