End of the 'Resignation' Show Behind Closed Doors; 'Naderan' Remains in Parliament

On Tuesday, November 21, the members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly held a 'non-public' session to discuss Elias Naderan's resignation request and ultimately opposed this 'resignation'. The state news agency 'IRNA' reported this morning that Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, as the Speaker of the Parliament, stated that 'the session to review Mr. Naderan's resignation request was held non-publicly, and Mr. Naderan elaborated on the strengths, weaknesses, and issues of the Parliament during this session.' Qalibaf mentioned that after hearing the arguments against the resignation, 'more than 90 percent of the parliament members' opposed his resignation. Naderan had announced his resignation from 'representation' last Azar (December) and at that time, the news agency 'ISNA' reported that some parliament members indicated that Naderan had resigned 'in criticism of the performance of the Parliament's presiding board.' Recently, on November 14, 2023, Naderan published the text of his resignation letter, which he had written on Azar 6, 1401 (November 27, 2022) and submitted to the presiding board, stating that the 'militarization of the Parliament's administration' was the reason for his resignation from 'representation'. In the letter he published on his X account under the title of resignation letter, he promised to present the 'detailed' reasons in a 'public session' to the 'members of the parliament'. Despite this promise, today's parliamentary session to review this 'resignation' was held 'non-publicly' and behind closed doors at the request of some 'representatives'. In November, Naderan had staged a sit-in in front of the presiding board's podium due to what he called 'failure to address the resignation request'. Naderan, who staged a sit-in during the public session on Sunday morning, November 21, in criticism of the management of the Parliament and the lack of attention to his resignation request, sat on the ground in front of the presiding board's podium. Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, explained in response to Naderan's sit-in before the end of the afternoon session on Sunday, November 21, 2023, that the internal regulations of the Parliament regarding resignations state that the request must be substantiated and then presented to the floor; in this regard, we have approved in the presiding board to address the issue of representatives' resignations in the first presiding board meeting, and if the reason is accepted, we will announce it in the first session of the floor. With all these details, today this show has come to an end, and according to Qalibaf, the representatives opposed this resignation in a 'non-public' session. The twelfth parliamentary elections will be held in Esfand (March) of this year.