Criticism from Employees of the Atomic Energy Organization Regarding 'Downsizing' in the Organization

A number of employees from the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute wrote a letter to Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, criticizing the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) as the cause of the 'downsizing' of hundreds of employees at this institute and the 'halt' of Iran's nuclear projects. This letter was published on Friday, May 13, in the Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stating that from November 2015 to March 2016, about 450 employees from the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute were downsized, including some project-based and some contractual staff. According to this letter, the laid-off employees had between 3 to 19 years of experience at the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute, and their exit from this institute and the Atomic Energy Organization signifies the 'destruction of the brain of the country's nuclear industry.' Previously, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization had stated that the published figures regarding the downsized employees were much lower and mentioned that some of the organization's staff were project-based workers whose contracts ended with the cessation of those projects and may be employed in other projects. However, the letter published in Tasnim claims that although these researchers were working within the framework of research projects, none of them were project-based employees. The letter continues: 'The question here is, how quickly are the organization's projects being completed in the 5 months following the approval of the JCPOA that approximately 450 people are laid off? Have some projects been halted and discontinued due to the limitations of the JCPOA? Did you, who have stated that you have taken responsibility for the technical consequences of the JCPOA, not have oversight over these issues?' The authors of this letter then wrote that the downsizing of the Atomic Energy Organization's staff 'indicates that the JCPOA, despite having no benefits in key areas such as banking exchanges for the country, has had very visible effects on the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute and the completion of its projects! But how long will this trend of downsizing and closure continue? And is the JCPOA a document for halting all nuclear projects and the nuclear industry?' This letter from the researchers comes at a time when Hassan Rouhani's government is facing severe criticism from some hardliners close to the Supreme Leader, who argue that the nuclear agreement with global powers has yielded no achievements for Iran. Iran was previously under heavy Western sanctions, to the extent that a large portion of its oil revenues was blocked in other countries, but it gained access to these revenues with the lifting of nuclear sanctions.