Larijani: The Implementation Plan of the JCPOA Was Coordinated with the Overall System

Despite criticism from some close associates of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic regarding the approval of the implementation plan of the Vienna nuclear agreement in the Parliament, the Speaker of the Parliament referred to Iran's nuclear file as the 'leader's file' and stated that this plan 'was coordinated with the overall country and system.' According to the state-run news agency IRNA, Ali Larijani emphasized on Sunday, October 18, in response to a protest from one of the participants at the 'Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice' conference, that four previous laws of the Parliament regarding Iran's nuclear file and the implementation plan of the Vienna nuclear agreement 'were coordinated with the overall country and system.' Larijani stated: 'I have no interference in the nuclear file. This file is the file of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution.' He stressed: 'This law does not say we have approved the JCPOA and go ahead and implement it, but we must implement the JCPOA within the framework of the measures and resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council, which has been done knowledgeably and deliberately because all resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council are signed by the Leader.' The Iranian Parliament approved the details of the implementation plan of the Vienna nuclear agreement in a tense session on Tuesday, October 21, and this plan was approved by the Guardian Council on Wednesday afternoon, October 22. During the review of this plan, several representatives protested that their proposals were not presented, stating that on the evening of Tuesday, Ali Larijani, National Security Secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Asghar Hajazi, a senior member of the Leader's office, decided that the representatives' proposals would not be presented. Meanwhile, Mehdi Koochakzadeh, a representative from Tehran, also stated on Tuesday that the collective opinions of these three individuals could not be considered the opinion of the Supreme Leader, and Ali Larijani responded to this remark by announcing that Ayatollah Khamenei 'has no role in this matter.' However, while the office of the Supreme Leader issued a statement denying the 'independent role' of some of its officials in reviewing this plan, Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of Ayatollah Khamenei at the Kayhan newspaper, emphasized in an editorial last Thursday that the mention of the role of a member of the Leader's office in the positive vote of representatives for the implementation plan of the Vienna nuclear agreement 'was not without impact,' raising the question of whether 'the votes taken can be considered the exact votes of the representatives.' In response to this article, the Public Relations of the Parliament sent a letter to Mr. Shariatmadari, objecting to other contents of this newspaper regarding the Parliament's performance in reviewing the Vienna nuclear agreement, calling the 'illegitimacy of the representatives' votes' 'ill-considered.' Larijani also accused the opponents of the implementation plan of the Vienna nuclear agreement of not adhering to agreements made prior to the public session of the Parliament. He emphasized: 'There should not have been noise in this regard. We took these actions to ensure there is consensus in the country and no differences exist, but some acted differently and now accuse me. This remains between them and their God.' Previously, several close associates of Mr. Larijani accused the Principlists faction, led by Gholamali Haddad Adel, of agreeing to the implementation plan of the Vienna nuclear agreement in meetings with the Velayat Faction but opposing it in the Parliament's public session. Alireza Zakani, the head of the special commission on the JCPOA, also accused the Speaker of the Parliament of vetoing the proposals of representatives from the Principlists faction during a joint meeting set to review the implementation plan of the Vienna nuclear agreement. Meanwhile, Kazem Jalali, the head of the Velayat Faction, stated in an interview with the Ana news agency, affiliated with Azad University, that in a meeting attended by Gholamali Haddad Adel and several other members of this faction, it was agreed that Mehrdad Bazrpash and Ali-Asghar Zarei would participate in the sessions reviewing proposals regarding the Vienna nuclear agreement. According to Jalali, Zarei and Bazrpash supported this plan, and Bazrpash stated, 'I am ready to come to the podium of the Parliament tomorrow and say we accept this plan.' Zarei is the representative who was photographed crying on the day the JCPOA-related plan was approved in the Parliament, and Bazrpash had registered as an opponent and spoken against the generalities of the JCPOA plan. In this context, the Public Relations of the Parliament stated that Kayhan is fueling divisions regarding the JCPOA. The first meeting of the joint commission of Iran and the 5+1 will be held on Tuesday. The European Union will announce a 'resolution for lifting sanctions' on Sunday. Ahmad Jannati stated that the Leader of Iran has not signed the implementation resolution of the JCPOA. Salehi stated that the lifting of sanctions on Iran will be announced on Tuesday. Kharrazi denied the claim of Khamenei's opposition to the nuclear agreement. Salehi stated that the Vienna agreement will be fully implemented by early December.