Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has appointed Mohammad Eslami as the new chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said Iran's government on Sunday.

Eslami, who served as minister of Transport and Urban Development in former President Hassan Rouhani's administration, replaces Ali Akbar Salehi, who has held the position since August 2013.

Eslami holds degrees in civil engineering and formerly served as the governor of Iran's Mazandaran province, deputy minister of the Ministry of Defense and the CEO of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company.

Iran is building two units as the extension of its Bushehr nuclear power plant, expecting a cumulative output capacity of 2,100 megawatts. The country's first 1,000-megawatt Bushehr nuclear power plant was completed by Russia in May 2011. 

Raisi has said Iran's nuclear program is "peaceful," stressing Iran forbids nuclear weapons, which have no place in the country's defense strategy. 

His government also reiterated that Iran's position on the Iran nuclear deal and the removal of sanctions will not change with the shift of government. 

The JCPOA Joint Commission, attended by the U.S. delegation indirectly, began to meet offline on April 6 in Vienna to continue previous discussions over a possible return of the U.S. to the JCPOA and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA. 

After six rounds of talks in Vienna since April, the parties said serious differences remain between Iran and the U.S. for the revitalization of the deal. The sixth round of talks ended on June 20, with the talks currently on hiatus. 

(With input from Xinhua)

(Then Minister of Road and Urbanization Mohammad Eslami walks in the presidency compound, in Tehran, Iran, April 7, 2021. /AP)