Established in 1973, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has operational control over Iran's civilian nuclear program. The organization's original purpose was to oversee the planned implementation of a 23,000 MWe nuclear program under the Shah. [1] The body has five separate divisions: (1) Research Division; (2) Nuclear Power Plant Division; (3) Nuclear Fuel Production Division; (4) Planning, Education and Parliament Affairs Division; and (5) Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Division. [2]

In 1998, AEOI officials met with A.Q. Khan to negotiate the purchase of centrifuge enrichment technology.[3] The organization also owned the companies Iran used for secret centrifuge research, such as Pars Trash and the Kalaye Electric Company.[4] The AEOI has actively attempted to provide Iran with access to foreign nuclear technology and negotiated, for example, cooperation agreements with Russia and China.[5] The organization also owns numerous front and false-flag companies, which it uses for illicit procurement operations in order to circumvent international sanctions. [6] The AEOI is the target of both U.S. and UN sanctions.

Sources:
[1] Dr. M. Ghannadi-Maragheh, "Atomic Energy Organization of Iran," World Nuclear Association, 2002, p.1, www.world-nuclear.org.
[2] Dr. M. Ghannadi-Maragheh, "Atomic Energy Organization of Iran," World Nuclear Association, 2002, p.1, www.world-nuclear.org.
[3] Yonah Alexander and Milton M. Hoenig, The New Iranian Leadership (London: Praeger Security International, 2008), p. 119.
[4] Yonah Alexander and Milton M. Hoenig, The New Iranian Leadership (London: Praeger Security International, 2008), p. 120.
[5] Yonah Alexander and Milton M. Hoenig, The New Iranian Leadership (London: Praeger Security International, 2008), pp. 144-149.
[6] "UN Security Council Resolution 1747 (2007)," 24 March 2007, www.un.org.