Kerymi Qodosi Reiterates: The Government Intends to Implement 'Seven JCPOAs'

The representative of Mashhad in the parliament accused Hassan Rouhani's government of intending to implement 'Seven JCPOAs', which he described as 'the seventh JCPOA' involving cooperation with six Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and the USA, and 'returning Iran to pre-revolution standards'. On Tuesday, March 9, Jawad Kerymi Qodosi stated in an interview with the student website affiliated with the Basij that Iran's missile program, Hezbollah, recognition of Israel by Iran, human rights, and the establishment of a European Union office in Iran are among these 'JCPOAs'. He claimed that 'in the seventh JCPOA', the issue of 'returning Iran to pre-revolution standards' is raised, which necessitates 'the USA being central in the Persian Gulf and region, and the countries of this region having a share under the leadership of the USA'. This parliament member also alleged that Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, after the Vienna nuclear agreement, informed Hassan Rouhani in a letter that he was ready to 'enter regional issues' based on the 'requests' of the US Secretary of State. He stated that Zarif mentioned the six Arab countries of the Persian Gulf 'along with Iran and the USA' in this letter. Kerymi Qodosi's statements come at a time when no letter containing the content he mentioned has been published. He had previously claimed that the nuclear negotiating team had 'seven agreements with the West and the Americans' during the attainment of the JCPOA, which included issues like 'missiles, resistance, human rights, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of Saudi Arabia as a regional power'. These statements provoked a strong reaction from the Foreign Ministry, which issued a statement last week calling it 'a criminal act subject to prosecution'. Kerymi Qodosi also described human rights as 'JCPOA four' and claimed that based on negotiations between the Foreign Ministry and Western countries, a 'delegation of Iranian and European and Western elites' was to be formed to conduct human rights negotiations 'without government interference'. This member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the parliament also stated that 'the commitment to open a European Union office in Tehran was one of the hidden layers of the nuclear agreement'. He claimed that 'unsigned agreements and understandings' existed in this regard, and the foreign minister had 'confessed' in response to representatives' questions that the EU office was supposed to be established 'for political work and oversight of the electoral process'. Kerymi Qodosi also mentioned that the foreign minister had informed him a month ago that the opening of the EU office in Iran was 'currently on hold'. Similar claims had previously been made by Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, who considered the establishment of the EU office in Tehran as the result of a document prepared after the JCPOA to regulate the EU's relations with Iran. Alamolhoda claimed that this document contained several articles, including FATF and the guarantee of Europe's oil and gas security by Iran, and the third article was 'non-interference' with dual nationals. Regarding the opening of the EU office in Iran, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Deputy Foreign Minister, announced in November that the EU had sent two representatives to the Dutch embassy in Tehran to proceed with the office's opening. This issue has sparked negative reactions from some conservatives and appointees of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, including Mohammad Javad Larijani, Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Iranian Judiciary, who stated that the Iranian judiciary would not allow such an action. This office has not yet been opened. In the interview, Kerymi Qodosi also mentioned that the leader of the Islamic Republic confirmed their criticisms of the Vienna nuclear agreement in a meeting last March with him and two other representatives, Ibrahim Karkani and Mahmoud Nabavian, and advised them to 'continue their work with the same style and strength'. According to Kerymi Qodosi, Ayatollah Khamenei also recommended that they delve into the 'hidden layers' of the nuclear negotiations. He added, 'At that time, we did not realize the hidden layers, but over time we understood issues such as FATF, the establishment of the EU office, Palermo, and the arrest of Darya Isfahani'. This summer, media affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including Fars and Tasnim news agencies, published dozens of reports and interviews from conservative parliament members and IRGC commanders protesting the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations in Iran. These protests were related to the impact of implementing these regulations on Iran's support for groups like Hezbollah, but in this regard, Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister, emphasized that in these negotiations, the Islamic Republic would 'sacrifice Hezbollah for nothing'. In this context, Ali Tayebnia, the Minister of Economy, announced that Iran would not provide information to the Financial Action Task Force. After the Central Bank of Iran officials reached an agreement with the FATF known as the 'action plan' regarding anti-money laundering and terrorism, the FATF announced that it had suspended its monetary and financial restrictions on Iran's banking system for 12 months. Iran has committed to implement the action plan to demonstrate its adherence to its obligations.