Tehran, Aug 30 (IANS) Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has appointed Mohammad Eslami as the new chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

Eslami, the former minister of Transport and Urban Development, replaces Ali Akbar Salehi who has served as the AEOI chief since August 2013, reports Xinhua news agency.

The 65-year-old Eslami holds degrees in civil engineering and has also formerly served as the Governor of Iran's Mazandaran province, a deputy minister of the Ministry of Defence and the CEO of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company.

The AEOI is in charge of overseeing the country's nuclear programs and handling Tehran's cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, namely the International Atomic Energy Agency.

--IANS ksk/