Senior cleric urges parliament’s role in JCPOA assessment

Addressing a large congregation of people in Tehran on Friday, Ayatollah Sayyed Ahmad Khatami said the Article 77 of the Constitution stipulates that all international treaties and agreements should be ratified by the lawmakers.

“If the (constitutional) law does not apply to an agreement of such great significance (like the JCPOA), then what would it apply to?” the cleric asked.

He then made a reference to recent comments by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, stressing that the parliament’s exclusion from the JCPOA assessment would not be appropriate.

“Taking the parliament into account will be indeed taking into account the people that have elected them (the MPs),” Ayatollah Khatami underlined.

Iran and the P5+1 group of countries (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.

Earlier on August 26, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi dismissed the need for ratification of the JCPOA by the parliament, saying the Supreme National Security Council itself deals with the case.

“The JCPOA’s nature is not like a protocol or an international treaty. The other parties (to the deal), namely the six countries that negotiated with Iran, are not going to ratify it. Thus, there is no need for its ratification by the Majles (Iran’s parliament),” the diplomat explained.

Takht-Ravanchi said the country’s Supreme National Security Council is scrutinizing the deal under a measure passed by the parliament itself, so that the JCPOA will undergo legal processes if it wins the SNSC’s approval and Ayatollah Khamenei’s endorsement.

/SR