264 Members of Parliament Request Government to Take Reciprocal Action Against the U.S.

Simultaneously with the statements of the President of Iran regarding the 'contradictory' nature of the U.S. Congress's resolution with the Vienna nuclear agreement, the Speaker and 264 members of Parliament urged the government to 'take reciprocal action in response to this resolution by behaving like the U.S.' According to the state news agency IRNA, Ali Larijani, in a public session on Sunday, December 5, asked the government to 'act as quickly as possible' and based on the law of Parliament to take 'reciprocal action' against the U.S. Congress's resolution to extend sanctions on Iran. The Speaker emphasized that the entire U.S. government system and both the Democratic and Republican parties have 'agreed' on extending sanctions on Iran, and the U.S. President has not acted 'honorably' in this matter. Larijani announced that based on his 'preliminary review,' the proposal to extend Iran's sanctions law contradicts the Vienna nuclear agreement in 8 instances. According to Mr. Larijani, this law focuses sanctions on oil and gas and subsequent investments in petrochemicals, which, according to Article 21 of the Vienna nuclear agreement, the United States must refrain from. The U.S. Senate's resolution has also provoked reactions from several Iranian Parliament members. The proposal to extend the Iran sanctions law was passed by the House of Representatives with only one dissenting vote and was unanimously approved by the Senate, thus extending Iran's sanctions until 2026 after the President's approval. In this context, White House and State Department spokespeople separately predicted the approval of this resolution by Barack Obama, stating that this resolution gives the Secretary of State the authority to remove nuclear sanctions from this package as long as Iran adheres to its commitments under the nuclear agreement (JCPOA). Meanwhile, 264 members of Parliament signed a statement in the Sunday session, declaring the extension of the D'Amato law by the U.S. Senate to be 'in contradiction with the text and spirit of the JCPOA' and called for reciprocal action by the Iranian government in this regard. According to the Iranian Parliament's resolution on the Vienna nuclear agreement, the government is obliged to 'carefully monitor any non-compliance by the other party regarding the effective lifting of sanctions or the re-imposition of lifted sanctions or the imposition of sanctions under any other title and to take reciprocal actions to uphold the rights of the Iranian people.' Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, also described the recent U.S. Congress resolution as 'contradictory' to the Vienna nuclear agreement and 'violative' of it while presenting the budget bill for the year 2017. He emphasized that the U.S. President is 'obliged' to prevent the approval and especially the implementation of the extension of sanctions against Iran using his powers. Mr. Rouhani added: 'As the President of the country and the head of the Supreme National Security Council, I explicitly declare that we will not tolerate any violation of the JCPOA by any of the 1+5 members and we will respond appropriately.' According to Mr. Rouhani, if this resolution is implemented, it would be a 'gross violation' of the JCPOA and would lead to a 'decisive response' from Iran. He added: 'Even its signing by the U.S. President is considered contrary to U.S. commitments and will face appropriate reactions.' The Iranian President announced that the monitoring board for the JCPOA will make 'necessary decisions and inform the public' in its meeting this week. Mr. Rouhani emphasized that Iran is determined to implement the 'desired JCPOA' but will also act decisively in the face of any breach of commitment, delay, or violation in the implementation of the JCPOA. On Saturday, the Iranian President also stated in a meeting with the special envoy of the Russian President for Syria that the Vienna nuclear agreement is the product of the work of seven countries and that 'no country should be allowed to take action to undermine the agreement according to its own desires.' In recent days, the Foreign Ministry, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to the Supreme Leader on international affairs, have also protested against the U.S. Congress resolution.