The chairman of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission praised the government's foreign policy record but criticized it for failing to effectively address the economic woes.
Last year's nuclear deal with major powers was a signature achievement for President Hassan Rouhani. It went into force on January 16 to lift international sanctions against Tehran in return for curbing its nuclear program. "The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has both advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages was the closure of the investigation into the Possible Military Dimensions" of Iran's nuclear program, Alaeddin Boroujerdi said, using the formal title of the accord. A final assessment report on Iran's past and present nuclear activities submitted by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano to the UN Security Council closed the PMD issue and gave the green light for the deal to take full force in mid-January.
"Also, the termination of UN Security Council resolutions can be highlighted as another merit of the action plan," Boroujerdi said.
Days after the announcement of the historic agreement on July 14, 2015, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to endorse it and annul sanctions resolutions against the Islamic Republic.
Iran expressed frustration that residual US non-nuclear sanctions have complicated its reentry into global markets by attracting overseas investment and technology. Foreign firms and banks are holding back from the Iranian economy because of American restrictions that include a ban on the use of US dollar in Iran-related transactions and on clearing them throug h the US financial system.
"The government was too optimistic to tie its economic affairs to the resolution of the nuclear issue. The people had followed the government to set their expectations on the same basis, only to find them smashed by the US lack of full commitment to JCPOA," Boroujerdi said.
"Thus the government's economic performance has been far from successful," he concluded.
