Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei stressed the role of the Majlis in reviewing the July nuclear deal with major powers, warning that underplaying it will not be in the national interest.
Referring to debates in recent days about the role of Parliament in the examination of the accord, officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Leader said, "Regarding the legal aspects of this issue…, it is legal experts and pundits who should comment."
"But generally speaking, I believe and I have told president [Hassan Rouhani] that it would not be in the interest of the country to sideline the Majlis in the issue of reviewing the JCPOA."
Ayatollah Khamenei noted, "I have no recommendation for the Majlis on how to examine the JCPOA or whether they should ratify or reject it. The decision rests with the lawmakers themselves."
He made the remarks in a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts on Thursday.
Referring to US officials' threat to pass measures to retain sanctions, despite the JCPOA, which is mainly aimed at removing sanctions in exchange for temporary limits on Tehran's nuclear program, the Leader said, "If the framework of the sanctions is to remain in place then what did we negotiate for?"
"If throughout the talks, we backed down in certain cases and gave certain concessions it was mainly for the sanctions to be lifted. Otherwise, there would be no need for us to take part in the negotiations and we could continue our work."
"If the sanctions are not lifted, there will be no deal. Therefore, this issue must be clarified," the Leader warned, according to a transcript of his remarks posted on his official website.
On the talk of suspending sanctions by some US officials, Ayatollah Khamenei said, "Since the beginning [of the negotiations], we insisted that the sanctions must be lifted rather than suspended."
***Regional Policy Intact
He reiterated that the JCPOA will not change Iran's regional policy, saying, "Among US policies in the region is complete annihilation and eradication of the forces of resistance and full domination over Syria and Iraq, and they expect the Islamic Republic to enter this framework… Such a thing will never happen."
The nuclear negotiators were banned from discussing any issue other than the nuclear dispute with US diplomats during the negotiations because Washington's policies are exactly the opposite of Tehran's, he said.
"The reason is US orientations, which stand entirely opposite of the Islamic Republic."
