Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attended a closed session of parliament on Sunday to brief lawmakers on a range of issues, including the implementation of last year’s nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and recent incidents in neighboring Turkey.
Speaking to Tasnim News Agency, Masoud Goudarzi, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said Zarif expounded on the latest developments in Middle Eastern states, including the failed military coup in Turkey.
For several hours overnight on Friday, violence rocked Turkey’s two main cities, as a faction within the army tried to seize power by blocking a bridge in Istanbul and strafing the headquarters of Turkish intelligence and parliament in Ankara.
Over 250 people were killed. An official said 161 of them were civilians and police officers, while the rest were coup supporters. Goudarzi said Zarif also discussed a recent report provided by the Foreign Ministry on the process of implementing the nuclear deal between Iran and P5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Tehran and the six major powers concluded the JCPOA on July 14, 2015, and started implementing it on January 16, terminating all nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
According to a law that requires the Iranian administration to safeguard the nation’s achievements and nuclear rights, Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has been tasked with monitoring “the proper implementation” of JCPOA, and is required to submit a report on the issue to the Majlis Presiding Board every six months.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the closed session of parliament, Behrouz Nemati, spokesman for the board, said during the meeting, Zarif also briefed the lawmakers on recent terrorist attack in France. Late on Thursday, a French-Tunisian criminal well known to the police for armed attacks killed at least 84 people when he drove a heavy truck at high speed into a crowd that were watching Bastille Day fireworks in Nice. The self-styled Islamic State terrorist group on Saturday claimed the attack by Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel.
