TEHERAN (Parliament Politics Magazine) – As a deal with world powers in Vienna appears to have come to a close, an overwhelming majority of parliamentarians of Iran have set tough criteria for the country’s readmission to the 2015 nuclear accord.
250 members in the 290-member parliament, which has been controlled by hardliners and conservatives since 2020, issued a statement on Sunday urging President Ebrahim Raisi to comply with their requirements in reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
They claimed that the “cruel and terrorist” US administration – and its “weak and contemptible” allies the United Kingdom, Germany and France – had demonstrated in recent years that they are not bound by any deal, and that Iran must learn from this and draw clear red lines.
The legislators described those as receiving assurances from the US and the so-called E3 that they won’t abandon the nuclear deal again, as was unilaterally done by the US did in the year 2018 under former President Donald Trump, who withdrew and imposed harsh sanctions.
The US regime and other JCPOA parties must promise not to use the snapback mechanism, they said, referring to a clause in the nuclear agreement that automatically reimposes UN sanctions on Iran of violations of the agreement.
All sanctions that were imposed under “false excuses,” according to the parliamentarians, needed to be lifted, including human rights designations, terrorism, missile and nuclear along with those imposed under the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), and U-Turn sanctions on dollar transactions.
Execution
The legislators demanded an unspecified “verification” mechanism to verify effective fulfilment of their demands, after which Iran would act to dial back its nuclear progress and return to full conformity with the JCPOA’s obligations.
Iran began progressively increasing the country’s nuclear capabilities in the year 2019 after waiting a year after the US left. Since December 2020, when the same parliament passed a law requiring the government of moderate former President Hassan Rouhani to take more steps, the process has escalated dramatically.
After two significant attacks on Iran’s key nuclear facility in Natanz and the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a renowned nuclear scientist, the law gained enough support. Iran claimed responsibility for the assaults, accusing Israel of being the perpetrator.
Iran is currently enriching uranium up to 60% using modern centrifuges, despite declaring that its nuclear programme is completely benign. While the nuclear deal limited Iran’s enrichment to 3.67% using first-generation machines, this is not the case.
Lastly, lawmakers reminded President Raisi on Sunday that, under their law, his government may only move to slow the country’s nuclear progress if parliament accepts the US easing of financial and oil sanctions.
Raisi, who, along with other conservatives, was a vocal opponent of the nuclear deal before pushing its restoration since assuming office in August 2021, has openly articulated requirements that are broadly in line with the parliament’s vision.
