Continuation of the Special Commission on the JCPOA in Iran's Parliament Despite Obama's Victory Over Congress

While the 60-day deadline for the U.S. Senate to review the nuclear agreement with Iran ended on Thursday and the Senate failed in its attempt to reject the agreement, the special commission reviewing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the Iranian Parliament continues its work. In the latest news about this commission, Abbasali Mansouri Arani, a member of it, said on Friday, September 27, that the report of this commission will be presented to the Parliament's presiding board for reading in the open session in the first decade of Mehr (October). Mr. Arani announced that the commission will review the JCPOA with the invitation of a legal expert in the Parliament's Judicial and Legal Commission on Saturday. At the same time, the Mehr news agency reported that the JCPOA has been referred to specialized commissions of the Parliament by the order of the presiding board, which has caused disagreements about the overlapping work of these commissions with the special commission. The special commission had previously announced that it had invited the heads of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches to attend its meeting. It also requested the presence of Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in this commission during his upcoming visit to Tehran. Abbasali Mansouri Arani and Hossein Naqavi, the spokesperson for the commission, stated that the Foreign Ministry has not yet responded regarding Amano's attendance. However, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, has expressed his willingness to attend this commission, but no date has been set yet. Hassan Rouhani and Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the heads of the executive and judicial branches, have also not responded to this invitation. Hassan Rouhani has opposed the request of conservative representatives against the nuclear agreement to send it in the form of a bill to Parliament, stating several times that since he, as President, does not sign this agreement, there is no legal necessity to send it in the form of a bill for approval in Parliament. Additionally, the Islamic Consultative Assembly has delegated the final decision-making authority regarding the nuclear agreement to the Supreme National Security Council of Iran in the law "Obligation of the Government to Maintain Nuclear Achievements." Ayatollah Khamenei, who is the main decision-maker in the Islamic Republic's macro policies, has refrained from explicitly expressing agreement or disagreement with this agreement and has only stated in response to opposing representatives, "It is not expedient for the Parliament to be sidelined from the process of reviewing this agreement." The special commission has also invited Ali Akbar Velayati, the international advisor to the Supreme Leader and head of the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Discernment Council, to attend this commission. However, Hossein Naqavi, the spokesperson for this commission, stated that Mr. Velayati is not inclined to do so, and his presence in the commission is entirely ruled out. Ali Akbar Velayati has accused the Americans of "bullying" during the negotiations but has overall supported the nuclear agreement. He has also called the account of Saeed Jalili in the special commission regarding the negotiation process during his management of this file incorrect. Meanwhile, Mohammad Hassan Asafari, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament, told the Fars news agency that the Parliament should review the JCPOA "without sensationalism" and that its controversial and problematic clauses should not be approved. This comes as Mohammad Javad Zarif and Abbas Araghchi, senior members of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, have repeatedly stated that the Parliament cannot change the text of the nuclear agreement, but can only express its opinion on the whole. Now the question arises as to what the impact of the special commission's report will be after Barack Obama's strategic victory in his foreign policy regarding Iran and the Senate's failure to reject this agreement. Especially since John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, immediately after the government's victory over Congress, announced that a seasoned diplomat has been appointed as the 'main coordinator' for the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. In this context, Kerry appointed Stephen Mull as the senior coordinator for the JCPOA.