Iran's Deputy Speaker of Parliament Views Nuclear Agreement as Positive

Despite criticism from some members of parliament regarding the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries in Lausanne, the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the National Security Commission of Parliament expressed a positive assessment of the agreement, interpreting it as an acknowledgment by adversaries of Iran's inclusion in the "nuclear club." According to ISNA news agency, Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi, the Deputy Speaker who chaired the parliament session in the absence of Ali Larijani on Sunday, April 5, described the "recognition of the Islamic Republic of Iran's right to enrichment" by Western countries as "a great victory for the Iranian nation." He spoke of the "acknowledgment by enemies" that Iran is "defined in the world nuclear club," adding: "The West will never recognize the right to enrichment for any country; there is only one exception, and that is Iran." Abutalebi's remarks come as some parliament members, including Ismail Kowsari, Hamid Rasai, and Mohammad Hossein Asafari, have strongly criticized the Lausanne agreement in recent days. Meanwhile, according to Fars news agency, Mehdi Koochakzadeh, a member of the Front of Steadfastness, held a placard in the parliament session stating: "Any contract that leads to foreign domination over natural, economic, cultural, military resources, and other aspects of the country is prohibited - Article 153 of the Constitution." This comes as Behrouz Namati, a member of the Principlist faction, stated that according to Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, the Lausanne statement is "overall positive." Previously, Iraj Nedimi, a representative from Lahijan, reported that Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, met with Ali Larijani on Saturday to discuss the Lausanne nuclear negotiations. Safar Naeimi, spokesperson for the Principlist faction, also reported that Zarif and Ali Akbar Salehi, the Foreign Minister and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, will be invited to explain the Lausanne statement to representatives in a closed session on Tuesday morning. 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 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Meanwhile, Aladdin Boroujerdi, Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, stated on Sunday that there is "no smooth path" for the approval of Iran's accession to this protocol in parliament. According to Tasnim news agency, Boroujerdi added: "Ten years ago, when the government voluntarily implemented this protocol... they referred the Iranian nuclear issue to the Security Council, and we legislated and mandated the government to halt the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol, and that is why this implementation was stopped." He clarified: "But now it is assumed that by canceling six resolutions, we will exit the Security Council again and return to a normal situation, which is the situation before the parliament's resolution." Boroujerdi had previously stated that if part of the final agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries involves accepting the Additional Protocol, "the parliament will certainly intervene." Meanwhile, according to Fars news agency, Javad Karimi Qodosi, a member of the National Security Commission, stated on Sunday that "in terms of monitoring, it has been accepted that the Agency's cameras, which have been operating offline until now, will from now on transmit images online, and these images will simultaneously be viewed in the terrorist centers of the Zionist regime, England, and France, which is beyond the Additional Protocol, and even this issue is not mentioned in this protocol." Based on the agreement between Iran and the P5+1 in Lausanne, the Iranian nuclear negotiating team announced that it would voluntarily implement the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty for a period of time. According to the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was signed during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami but did not reach the approval of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, inspectors from the Agency will be allowed to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities whenever they deem necessary. Boroujerdi further stated that the results of the Lausanne meeting have effectively "brought the Islamic Republic into the nuclear technology club minus the nuclear bomb." He also mentioned that the remaining one thousand centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear facility create a type of "deterrence" that allows "if they want to violate, we can utilize this capacity." Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, stated on Friday that activities of more than "one thousand centrifuges" at the Fordow nuclear site will continue, with "two chains" operating without nuclear materials. Accepting limited uranium enrichment only at the Natanz facility, converting the Fordow site into a research center, internationally redesigning the Arak heavy-water reactor, transferring Iran's inactive centrifuges to storage, reducing uranium reserves, and regular monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency are among Iran's commitments based on the Lausanne agreement. Simultaneously with the statements of parliament representatives regarding the Lausanne nuclear agreement, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran emphasized the importance of the next three months for the negotiating parties, stating: "Rest assured that Israel and its lobbies, extremists, hawks, and those who fear peace and tranquility will take action and will create obstacles with every pen and step they can." According to IRNA news agency, he added: "Rest assured that Zionist media will be the mouthpiece of the opponents of the Iran-P5+1 nuclear agreements." Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, expressed deep dissatisfaction with the nuclear "understanding" between Iran and world powers and held an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday, April 3. Hashemi Rafsanjani also stated on Tuesday, February 24, that the group known as "the alarmists" in Iran has become "aligned" with Benjamin Netanyahu. The term "alarmists" in Iranian media has been used after a conference named "We are Alarmed" was held on May 2 for critics of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 countries, most of whom are close to the Front of Steadfastness.