Boroujerdi: Negotiators Must Obtain Parliament's Approval for Acceptance of Additional Protocol

The head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament states that the acceptance of the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by the Islamic Republic, 'even voluntarily,' requires parliamentary approval. Aladdin Boroujerdi emphasized in an interview with Mehr News Agency on Saturday, April 12, that the Iranian nuclear negotiating team must obtain 'permission' from the Parliament to accept such a commitment in the final agreement with the P5+1 group. According to the Additional Protocol to the NPT, which was signed during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami but was not ratified by the Islamic Consultative Assembly, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be allowed to conduct surprise inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities whenever deemed necessary. In this context, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, suggested last week that the Islamic Republic might accept this protocol during the final agreement with global powers and grant permission to the IAEA for inspections. Boroujerdi noted the previous parliamentary resolution to halt the 'voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol,' stating that 'since we have a previous resolution from the Parliament preventing the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol, the renewed acceptance of the Additional Protocol, even voluntarily, also requires a parliamentary resolution.' He added, 'This means that the Parliament must consider its previous resolution, which is still in effect, and allow them [the Iranian nuclear negotiating team] to accept such a commitment.' The head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission emphasized, 'We are waiting to see what happens with the rest of the agreements; the Parliament is carefully monitoring the process.' Boroujerdi had previously stated on November 13, 2014, that if part of the final agreement between Iran and the P5 countries involves acceptance of the Additional Protocol, 'the Parliament will definitely intervene.' His statements come as, according to the Lausanne nuclear agreement, Iran has agreed to implement the Additional Protocol voluntarily. Ali Akbar Salehi also stated on Tuesday, April 7, that 'if everything goes well,' Iran will accept the Additional Protocol. However, some officials of the Islamic Republic, including Marzieh Afkham, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, have said that Iran might sign the Additional Protocol 'under certain conditions,' but the final decision rests with the Iranian Parliament. Meanwhile, Ali Saeedi, a representative of the Supreme Leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also stated on Tuesday, December 3, 2014, 'We have fully accepted the Agency's oversight. If they recognize our rights, the Parliament may also accept and ratify the Protocol.' In another part of his remarks, Boroujerdi referred to the statements of the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, saying that the Iranian negotiating team had prepared Iran's position paper from the Lausanne nuclear agreement, 'but they hesitated to publish it.' The head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission opposed the publication of this position paper, emphasizing that presenting a position paper from Iran 'naturally limits the bargaining power' in nuclear negotiations and 'eliminates the maneuvering space.' Boroujerdi's remarks come as Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, stated on Thursday, April 10, that the text of Iran's position paper from the Lausanne agreement was published 'an hour before the Lausanne statement' and even before the U.S. position paper. Rouhani referred to a document titled 'Summary of the Total Solutions Agreed Upon to Reach a Comprehensive Joint Action Plan,' which was published by the Iranian Foreign Ministry simultaneously with the announcement of the Lausanne nuclear agreement. This comes as Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, had previously stated that this document is not Iran's position paper from the Lausanne agreement. Nevertheless, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, a member of the Iranian team, on Thursday, April 10, referred to Rouhani's statements and reposted the document on his Instagram page with the aim of 'helping to refresh minds.' This document contains differences regarding how Iran's sanctions will be lifted compared to what is mentioned in the U.S. position paper about the Lausanne agreement.