A senior diplomat says whenever the Majlis special commission on the nuclear deal calls the negotiators, they will attend its sessions and reply to questions, the same approach they took on hearings held by other panels.
Since the conclusion of the nuclear talks with major powers last month, the negotiators have attended many sessions of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission to resolve any doubts about the deal, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, a key member of the nuclear negotiating team, said on Wednesday, IRNA reported.
He also said he believes the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is officially known, is not an “international protocol or treaty”, so it does not require parliamentary approval, as is the case in other countries engaged in the talks.
Iran and the P5+1 (the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany) announced the conclusion of the nuclear negotiations in Vienna on July 14.
Since then, there has been considerable debate on how this deal should be ratified and which authority -- Parliament or the Supreme National Security Council -- should give the final approval.
Some lawmakers say under the Constitution, any foreign agreement needs the approval of the Majlis, but some other officials maintain that such an important deal should be approved by the SNSC, not Parliament.
Unlike domestic bills, which can be modified by the parliamentarians, the JCPOA cannot be revised and the Majlis can only approve or reject it as a whole, just like the US Congress, Takht-Ravanchi explained.
“We think the Supreme National Security Council should handle the deal,” the deputy foreign minister said, adding that in Iran’s political system, the legal channel for such a deal to be ratified is to obtain the SNSC’s approval, which needs to be endorsed by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Asked how he sees the outcome of the agreement’s review, Takht-Ravanchi said, “It is hard to predict. We will answer questions by the Majlis and the SNSC and in the end we will abide by any decision made by the system.”
