Firouzabadi's Appreciation and Hashemi Rafsanjani's Support for Nuclear Agreement

Mohammad Firouzabadi, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council, congratulated and expressed support for Iran's nuclear agreement in separate messages. According to Fars News Agency, Mr. Firouzabadi congratulated the 'success' of the nuclear negotiating team to Ali Khamenei and thanked the presidency and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister, for their efforts. On the other hand, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani also supported the recent agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group in the nuclear negotiations. According to Ilna News Agency, Mr. Rafsanjani stated on Saturday that he appreciates the guidance and leadership of Ayatollah Khamenei, as well as the government and the Iranian nuclear negotiating team, and congratulates 'this success' to the people of Iran. Mr. Rafsanjani also mentioned that while 'the world bows to the legitimacy of Iran, some, under the guise of criticism, were spreading negativity, but these remarks only create tension in both domestic and foreign spaces.' In this context, despite criticism from some members of parliament regarding the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 in Lausanne, the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the National Security Commission of the Parliament on Sunday, April 16, considered the 'recognition of the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to enrichment' by Western countries as 'a great victory for the Iranian nation.' According to ISNA, Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament who chaired the session in the absence of Ali Larijani, stated, 'The West will never recognize the right to enrichment for any country; there is only one exception, and that is Iran.' Mr. Abutalebi's comments come as some members of parliament, including Ismail Kowsari, Hamid Rasai, and Mohammad Hossein Asafari, have strongly criticized the Lausanne agreement. One of the objections from some parliament members to the Lausanne agreement is the Iranian government's commitment to voluntarily implement the Additional Protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was signed during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami but did not receive parliamentary approval. Under the Additional Protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, inspectors will be allowed to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities whenever they deem necessary. In this regard, the Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament considered the outcome of the nuclear agreement to be positive.