Concerns Over Majlis JCPOA Bill Conveyed to Guardians Council

The government on Wednesday wrote a letter to the Guardians Council about its concerns over a parliamentary bill on countering sanctions, which requires Iran to curb cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog.    
The letter was prepared by First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri following discussions in the Cabinet on Wednesday and expresses the administration’s opposition and arguments to the attention of the council, which is in charge of verifying any legislation passed by the parliament, IRNA reported.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Cabinet meeting, Jahangiri explained that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name of the nuclear deal, is among Iran’s major national security issues and should be managed by one authority. 
“Management of the nuclear issue has been assigned to the Supreme National Security Council … The parliament’s dealing with this subject is not in the country’s interest in our opinion,” he said. 
He noted that the directives of the council are peremptory after having been approved by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.  
Majlis has prepared a nine-article bill on a strategic action plan to counter the sanctions, which requires the government to take certain nuclear measures.
The sanctions have been reimposed by United States as part of a maximum pressure campaign since 2018 when it withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has so far responded by scaling down its commitments until the remaining parties can ensure its full enjoyment of JCPOA’s promised benefits.
The bill, however, requires the administration to suspend more commitments under the deal and curtail the country’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

Harmful for Diplomatic Efforts 

Lawmakers on Tuesday approved the outlines of the plan plus two of its articles, including a controversial one that urges the cessation of adherence with the Additional Protocol to Iran’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with IAEA, if the European parties to JCPOA fail to ensure Iran’s interests within a month of the law’s adoption. 
The plan was passed with a high urgency following the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, on Friday, which Iran blames on Israel. 
“Now that the maximum pressure strategy has reached a deadlock, we should not change our nuclear [policies],” Jahangiri said, citing the US failure to achieve any of its objectives under pressure. 
President Hassan Rouhani also said during the Cabinet meeting that his administration is opposed to the directive and believes it is “harmful to the process of diplomatic efforts”. 
Jahangiri emphasized that while lawmaking is a duty of the parliament, its implementation is the right of the government. 
“The Majlis should not interfere in executive affairs,” he said, saying the president, the Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have legal mandates as part of the executive branch of power.
Jahangiri said the vice president for legal affairs has also prepared a report on the bill’s shortcomings. 
It points out that the plan entails a financial burden and interferes with the affairs of executive branch and the Supreme Council for National Security.    
The report also underlines the fact that an issue of high national security cannot be addressed emotionally and hastily, and needs careful consideration.