Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 8
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is an international convention and should be ratified by the parliament, the research center of the Iranian Guardian Council said in a statement.
The agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group is in line with articles 77 and 125 of the Iranian Constitution, so it requires to be addressed exclusively by the parliament, according to the statement which was published in the council's official website.
It also says the Iranian Supreme National Security Council is not qualified to ratify the JCPOA, but it can set rules for the parliament which should be observed in the ratification of the JCPOA.
Some Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, say Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers does not need to be approved by the parliament as it is neither an international convention nor a treaty.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sept.3 that he favored a parliamentary vote on the nuclear deal.
"Lawmakers should not be sidelined on the nuclear agreement. This doesn't mean that parliament should approve or reject the deal. It is their decision to back or oppose," he said.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said on September 7 that any interpolation in the content of the JCPOA will not be negotiable again. Any interpolation in the context of the agreement will hamper its implementation seriously, Salehi said.
Iran and the six powers (US, Russia, China, France, UK, and Germany) struck JCPOA deal on July 14 and, if the UN atomic watchdog confirms Tehran is complying with provisions to curb its nuclear activity, sanctions could begin to be removed later this year.