Request from the JCPOA Commission for a Meeting with Amano During His Visit to Tehran

On the eve of Yukiya Amano's visit to Tehran, the special commission reviewing the JCPOA in Parliament has requested that Mr. Amano attend one of its sessions to be informed of the "sensitivities and concerns of the representatives." According to Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Mr. Amano is scheduled to visit Tehran in the coming days, and Alireza Zakani, head of the JCPOA Commission, has announced the commission's written request to the Iranian Foreign Ministry for a meeting with Mr. Amano. The news about the JCPOA Commission's request for a meeting with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency was published by the House of Parliament News Agency on Wednesday, September 25, quoting Mr. Zakani. Mr. Zakani also noted that a report on the JCPOA by Mr. Amano to the U.S. Congress "should also be done in Iran." The letter sent by the JCPOA Commission to the Foreign Ministry refers to the representatives' desire to directly express their sensitivities regarding the agency's "performance, inspections, and critical responsibilities" with the Director General of the agency. The report published by the House of Parliament News Agency mentions that after the JCPOA Commission representatives expressed their desire for Mr. Amano to attend this commission, the government spokesman requested that this request be formally submitted "so that necessary investigations can be conducted in this regard." Mr. Amano had previously attended a meeting of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in mid-August this year, where he answered questions from American senators about the Iran nuclear deal. In a statement released after this meeting, he noted that the "roadmap" for resolving past issues in Iran's nuclear file was discussed. The Director General of the agency added in his statement that he faced many questions from senators, including about the "roadmap," but his response was that "his legal obligations require safeguards to remain confidential, and this is one of the essential elements of the international safeguards regime." A few days before this meeting, Iran warned the Director General of the agency about the disclosure of the Iran-agency agreement during the meeting with American senators. Nevertheless, after this meeting, the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced that American senators left the meeting with Yukiya Amano with "greater concerns" about the Iran nuclear deal. In another event related to the JCPOA Commission meetings, Alireza Zakani, the head of this commission, sent a letter to the heads of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, requesting a joint session of this commission with them to "benefit from their macro and strategic views." The JCPOA Commission has invited Ali Larijani several times to attend its meetings, but the Speaker of Parliament, who is considered a supporter of the nuclear deal, has so far refused to attend the JCPOA Commission. Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, has also made general statements regarding the nuclear deal, but the main point in his statements is "countering American influence in the country." The JCPOA Commission hosted the Minister of Intelligence and his deputies on Tuesday evening, and according to the spokesperson for this commission, Mahmoud Alavi warned about the "bipolarization of society." Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Velayati, the international advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei, who has a critical view of Saeed Jalili's narrative in the JCPOA Commission, was supposed to be a guest at the commission on Wednesday but announced that he would not attend. Among the absentees from the JCPOA Commission meeting on Tuesday were Ali Tayebnia, the Minister of Economy, and Valiollah Seif, the Central Bank Governor, with Mr. Tayebnia's absence attributed to a "business trip."