Press TV- The Iranian nuclear chief says he�will defend the country's national interests "in the best way" during the upcoming Oslo Forum.

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi made the remarks on Monday upon his arrival in Norway to participate in the 16th edition of the Oslo Forum.

He said he would express Iran's explicit stance on the multilateral nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, after the United States' move to withdraw from it.
"Certainly, the JCPOA will be one the most important issues which will be discussed and we will declare Iran's positions explicitly and transparently," Salehi said.
US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement, which was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus Germany.

Trump also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

Since the US president pulled Washington out of the historic nuclear deal, European countries have been scrambling to ensure that Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal. The remaining parties have vowed to stay in the accord.

Salehi further noted that he would hold meetings with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the Norwegian prime minister and foreign minister on the sidelines of the Oslo Forum.

The AEOI chief said he would also exchange views with political experts from different countries and a number of other participants at the forum on the future of the nuclear accord after the US exit.

More than 100 of the world�s most prominent armed conflict mediators, peace process actors, high-level decision-makers and eminent thinkers will gather in Oslo on June 19-20 at the 16th edition of the Oslo Forum.

Co-hosted jointly by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), the forum brings together practitioners and experts for informal discussions to reflect on current peacemaking trends and challenges.

The overarching theme of the 2018 Forum will be �The End of Big Peace? Opportunities for Mediation�. Participants will explore the challenges posed to peacemakers by the increasingly atomized and internationalized nature of ongoing conflicts.