Contentious Day for the JCPOA; Concrete for Arak Reactor in Parliament

The approval of the general outlines of the "Iran's Proportional Action in Implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" in the Iranian Parliament took place on Sunday during one of the most contentious days of the 9th Parliament, where opponents of the nuclear agreement made their last efforts to prevent a positive vote on this bill. Anonymous text messages were sent to parliament members threatening them to vote against the urgent proposal for the JCPOA, along with threats of execution and death directed at the Foreign Minister and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, and disruptions during Ali Akbar Salehi's speech, who was trying to clarify some representatives' ambiguities regarding the cessation of activities or the repurposing of the Arak reactor. Meanwhile, the manner in which the opponents faced the situation, ultimately displaying their significant discontent with the agreement with 100 votes against it, came at a time when the Supreme Leader had previously warned that the nuclear agreement should not create division in society. What were the final efforts of the opponents of the nuclear agreement to assert their opposition in Parliament? A member of the parliamentary board stated that "anonymous messages rejecting the urgent proposal for Iran's proportional and reciprocal action in implementing the JCPOA have been sent." Alireza Monadi, a member of the board, noted that he too received these "threatening anonymous messages" but emphasized that "no one is influenced by such messages in an important matter like the JCPOA." Hussein Sobhaninia, the deputy head of the Velayat Faction, also mentioned that "in recent days, messages opposing the JCPOA were sent to parliament members, indicating their directed nature." He added that "the sending of directed messages in recent days was in continuation of some groups and individuals protesting in front of Parliament, indicating that these events occurred in a coordinated manner." Neither of these two principlist representatives referred to the content of these messages. The main disagreement in the JCPOA proposal lies between two principlist factions, both of which attract a significant number of representatives. The "Velayat Faction" led by Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, and the "Principlist Faction" led by Gholamali Haddad Adel, which includes members from the Stability Front consisting of members from former Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cabinets and close associates of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi. However, Iran's commitment to redesigning the Arak reactor and filling its core with concrete has sparked anger among some principlists, leading to a notable reaction from Rouhollah Hosseinian, known for his bizarre reactions and statements over the past two decades, who, in expressing his opposition to this plan, told Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, "If I come to power, I will bury you in the Arak reactor and pour cement over you." Several eyewitnesses, including Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization, Kamel Pir Mohsen, a member of Parliament, and Majid Ansari, the parliamentary deputy to the President, confirmed Mr. Hosseinian's statement. The spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization stated, "Hearing such a statement was very surprising for us, and I still think I am dreaming..." Kamel al-Din Pir Mohsen, a representative from Ardabil, stated that "Salehi was threatened with death and Zarif was threatened with execution," and in response to the question of which representatives threatened Zarif, he said: "Hosseinian, Rasai, and the Stability Front." Ultimately, Majid Ansari confirmed that "the death threats in Parliament" also included Mohammad Javad Zarif, but stated that "we think Mr. Zarif and Salehi have heard such statements often and we do not take them seriously." Photos sent by some news agencies from the Parliament session show Mr. Hosseinian discussing with Mr. Salehi while Mohammad Javad Zarif attempts to calm Mr. Salehi. However, Mr. Salehi, who was present as the government's representative in Parliament on Sunday, could not deliver his statements calmly, as both photos and audio-visual recordings of the incident show that his speech was accompanied by the rush of opposing representatives towards the podium and their attempts to prevent him from speaking. Mr. Salehi explained that a parliament member "with a solemn oath" threatened to bury him in the heart of the Arak reactor. Meanwhile, Mr. Hosseinian, who during the uproar of the chain murders defended Saeed Emami by saying, "By God, we ourselves have been killers one day," told a parliament member that what he said to Salehi was a joke. Salehi, however, reacted to another point, which was the remarks of Bijan Pirouz, a university professor who has recently been a constant presence in some Iranian television programs and reports about the JCPOA. Mr. Pirouz recently tried to show "scientifically" and "with mathematical calculations" why he opposes the nuclear agreement. However, his "scientific and mathematical calculations" indicated that since the life expectancy of Iranians is between 72 and 75 years, and for instance, Mr. Salehi, as part of the negotiating team, is 66 years old, the agreement is timed for the period when Mr. Salehi and his contemporaries are alive, and when they die, everything will change. The opponents of the nuclear agreement in Iran initially tried to prevent the formation of an agreement between Iran and the West. After that, by forming a commission in Parliament and using the nuclear negotiating team during Saeed Jalili's time, they tried to show that the nuclear agreement was against national interests. After a large faction of representatives decided to conditionally approve the JCPOA in the form of an urgent proposal, they succeeded in preventing the urgent proposal from being voted on. In the cultural commission, where they hold the upper hand, they voted negatively on it, and then 17 of them requested in a letter that the consideration of the urgent proposal be halted. The opponents even held a several-day sit-in in front of Parliament, which could not be stopped even by a call from the office of the Supreme Leader expressing disapproval of the sit-in, leading to police intervention. Ultimately, even whispers of suspending the voting through obstruction were heard, but the general outlines of the proposal were approved with the presence of 253 parliament members, and 100 of them voted against it. This occurred while the opponents attempted to oppose the JCPOA even in the absence of Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, in the Parliament session, an objection that was rendered moot by Ali Larijani's emphasis on Shamkhani's support for the proposal and even his phone call with the Supreme National Security Council. Now it remains to be seen whether on Tuesday, in a Parliament with 290 representatives, the opponents will succeed in asserting their views in the detailed examination of the proposal. The next station for the fate of the JCPOA proposal is the Guardian Council, and it remains to be seen whether, as Abbas Araghchi, the official responsible for following up on the implementation of the JCPOA, has expressed hope, this agreement will enter the implementation phase next Monday or not.