Tehran, Iran, August 29
By Temkin Jafarov -- Trend:
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said that passing the nuclear deal as a law in the parliament is not in favor of the government.
"The passing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) into law by the parliament will only lay pressure on the government. It will be a move in favor of the P5+1 since while none of the P5+1 government has signed the deal, the parliament move [if accomplished] would mean that the Iranian president and foreign minister would have to sign it," he said, Trend correspondent reported.
He made the remarks while addressing at a press conference in Tehran on the occasion of the Government Week on Aug. 29.
After several months of talks, on July 14, Iran and the P5+1 (US, Russia, China, France, UK, and Germany) announced a final accord, curbing Iran 's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of most international sanctions. Following the deal, members of the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on July 20, endorsing the deal.
Some hardliners inside Iran argue that the nuclear deal should be ratified by parliament as a law.
Earlier Iran's chief nuclear negotiator and Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that it will not be appropriate within the framework of national interests if Parliament intends to ratify the JCPOA.
He referred to Article 77 of the Constitution which stipulates treaties have to be ratified by the parliament and added, 'It should be studied whether JCPOA is one of such treaties.'
'When a case is deferred to the Supreme National Security Council, it moves out of parliament capacity. The nuclear issue has been reviewed by the council for the past 12 years.'
Rouhani further said that by accepting the nuclear deal, Iran has not accepted any restriction on its military power.
"If compared to previous two-year periods, the past two-year period has been the brightest in terms of military technology improvement. Our arsenals have never been fuller of strategic weapons," he asserted.
According to the UN Security Council resolution passed after the nuclear deal Iran will have to acquire permission from the UN Security Council for any arms deal it would like to make.
Rouhani earlier said that Iran will ignore the resolution if necessary. Tehran will buy and sell weapons wherever it deems necessary and does not care about any resolution, he asserted.