Iran's Parliament to Vote on 'Countering U.S. Adventurism' Bill

The spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament stated that a bill titled 'Countering U.S. Adventurism and Terrorism' has been finalized and is likely to be on the agenda for a vote next Sunday. According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Hossein Naqavi Hosseini mentioned on Thursday, August 10, that the bill was finalized in an extraordinary meeting of the commission the day before and has been submitted to the Parliament's presiding board, with plans to pass it before reviewing the proposed ministers for the twelfth government. The list of proposed ministers by Hassan Rouhani for the twelfth government was presented to the Islamic Consultative Assembly on Tuesday, and the Parliament has only one week to review it. However, the new government of Hassan Rouhani is being formed amidst uncertainty regarding the fate of its predecessor's most significant achievement, the nuclear agreement. Iranian officials view the recent U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic as a basis for the termination of the JCPOA, but they have emphasized that Iran will not be the first to abandon the agreement. In this context, the Iranian Parliament is seeking to retaliate against the U.S. and intends to punish it by passing this bill. IRNA has published the full text of the bill, which accuses the U.S. of supporting terrorist groups such as ISIS and al-Nusra Front and 'financing and providing facilities to oppressive dictatorial regimes in the region.' The bill states that U.S. military and intelligence organizations, as well as senior commanders and officials involved in 'financing and militarily supporting terrorist and extremist groups in the region' and 'committing terrorist acts against the Islamic Republic,' should be targeted for sanctions. The bill also targets supporters of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization, referred to as 'hypocrites' by the Islamic Republic. Accordingly, the Iranian Foreign Ministry is required to identify the individuals mentioned in this article within three months in cooperation with the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and, in coordination with the Supreme National Security Council, register and publish their names on the sanctions list. Last week, the U.S. President signed a bill to intensify sanctions against Iran, Russia, and North Korea, paving the way for U.S. sanctions against the IRGC. Under the U.S. Congress resolution, the President must impose sanctions on the IRGC and foreign individuals who are officials, agents, or affiliates of the IRGC within 90 days of the law's implementation. In this context, reactions to the new U.S. sanctions include remarks from Araqchi stating that the IRGC and Quds Force will be strengthened, along with repeated criticisms from Rouhani and Zarif regarding the U.S. approach to the JCPOA during a meeting with Mogherini. Rouhani emphasized during the inauguration ceremony that Iran is not the initiator of the JCPOA violation, while Zarif stated that if the Americans do not want the JCPOA, they must bear the costs. Reuters reported that Nikki Haley is going to Vienna to assess Iran's nuclear activities.