Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, clarified the country’s nuclear needs July 8 after controversy erupted over comments by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about Iran's nuclear program needing 190,000 separative work units (SWU). The SWU, a complex unit, indicates energy input, enrichment and depletion levels.
“A current sensitive issue is the nuclear issue,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a speech to government officials July 7, adding that the opposing side has taken a maximalist position in the nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.
