Aladdin Boroujerdi: Oman Negotiations Were Challenging, Serious, and Bitter

The head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Commission, Aladdin Boroujerdi, described the negotiations between Tehran and the 1+5 group in Oman as "challenging, serious, and bitter," stating that the acceptance of the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty by Iran falls within the jurisdiction of the Parliament. In an interview with ISNA on Thursday, November 22, Boroujerdi said, "The representatives of the seventh Parliament prevented the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol; if it is part of the final agreement, the Parliament will definitely intervene; Zarif has also stated several times that this issue is under the Parliament's control." According to the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was signed during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami but was not ratified by the Islamic Consultative Assembly, inspectors from the agency would be allowed to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities whenever deemed necessary. Reza Najafi, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated on November 16 in response to the agency's latest report that "if all sanctions are lifted and Iran's nuclear file returns to the agency, we can consider re-implementing the Additional Protocol." The agency's report on November 16 indicated that the Islamic Republic has refused to implement this protocol, which allows for surprise inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities, despite requests from the UN Security Council and the agency's Board of Governors. The head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission further emphasized that "the Oman negotiations have been challenging, serious, and even bitter, which is completely contrary to the statements of some members of Parliament; our red lines have been defined." He did not provide further details. Boroujerdi also referred to the Supreme Leader's statements, saying, "All sanctions must be lifted, and enrichment must reach a level where if the Bushehr power plant does not receive fuel after a ten-year agreement with the Russians, Iranian power plants can produce their own fuel." Concurrently with the tripartite nuclear negotiations between Iran, the United States, and the European Union in Muscat, Oman, over 200 Iranian Parliament members issued a statement insisting on issues such as "the rejection of any limitations on research and development of enrichment," "the continuation of operations at the Fordow nuclear facility," and "the complete lifting of sanctions immediately after the agreement is reached." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, had previously identified "enrichment capacity," "research and development," and "Fordow facilities" as three important issues in Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group. Alongside Boroujerdi's remarks, Hossein Sheikh al-Islam, the international advisor to the Parliament Speaker, stated that the final agreement from the nuclear negotiations must be approved by the Parliament. Mohammad Nahavandian, the head of the Iranian President's office, also deemed it "premature" to judge the outcome of the nuclear negotiations while emphasizing that "the very important point that everyone knows is that Iran has made its case in this long process." He stressed that regardless of the outcome of the nuclear negotiations, Iran's economy will progress. According to the interim Geneva agreement reached last year, the deadline for Iran and the 1+5 countries to reach a comprehensive and final agreement ends on December 3. Meanwhile, Reuters has reported, citing official Iranian and Western sources, that "it is unlikely that Iran and the 1+5 will reach a final agreement on the Islamic Republic's nuclear file by the December 3 deadline."