The Expediency Council Opposes Adding Saturdays to Weekend Holidays; The Ball Remains in the Guardian Council's Court

While the Guardian Council has not yet commented on the recent parliamentary resolution to add Saturday to the weekend holidays in Iran, it was announced today that the "High Supervisory Board" of the Expediency Council has opposed the closure on Saturdays. Hadi Tahan Nazif, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council, stated in today's press conference that the review of the parliamentary resolution is on the Guardian Council's agenda, and no action has been taken regarding it yet. After weeks of controversy over adding a day to the weekend in Iran, parliament representatives approved in a meeting on May 16 that Fridays and Saturdays would be designated as weekend holidays. The implementation of this resolution depends on its approval by the Guardian Council. During the review of the civil service law amendment, parliament representatives voted with 136 in favor, 66 against, and 3 abstentions to agree with the main report of the social committee regarding the increase in weekend holidays. Accordingly, Saturday will be a holiday, and the working hours for employees will be reduced from 44 to 40 hours per week. During that day's meeting, a proposal to close on Thursdays was also put to a vote, which representatives rejected. The decision regarding the increase in weekend holidays in Iran has turned into a confrontation between opponents and supporters in recent weeks. In this context, a member of the previous parliament's board, which passed this resolution, reported consulting with some "religious authorities" and announced that the "offices of three authorities" had no problem with the closure on Saturdays. The social committee approved the addition of Saturday to the weekend holidays in its report while opponents suggested Thursday and considered Saturday closures as following the "Jews." Mohsen Pirhadi, a member of the previous parliament's board, stated that "despite the maneuvers and accusations from some critics and opponents, after thorough investigations, it became clear that changing the holiday from 'Thursday and Friday' to 'Friday and Saturday' has no religious or legal prohibition and is considered a sovereign decision that merely requires a commitment and reform approach based on the interests and needs of the country." Recently, Iranian media reported on correspondence between the head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce and Ali Khamenei to obtain a "government ruling" for closing on Saturdays instead of Thursdays to align holiday practices globally. The possibility of closing Thursdays instead of Saturdays, which was the main reason for opposition to Saturday closures in Israel, has raised concerns among a significant number of economic activists. In this regard, the website "Khabar Online" reported that the previous resolution of the social committee has caused a wave of sadness in the private sector. They believe that by closing Thursdays, "our distance from the world economy will become four days, and instead of compensating for our backwardness, we will fall further behind the world." Part of Article 17 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution states that "the official weekly holiday is Friday." Given today's parliamentary decision, it is unclear whether the Guardian Council will deem this increase in weekend holidays as contradictory to this constitutional principle or agree to this change. However, considering the Expediency Council's opinion that this resolution contradicts the "general policies" announced by Ali Khamenei, it seems that the Guardian Council will also declare it contrary to Islamic law and the constitution, and in that case, the decision-making will be handed back to the new parliament. A member of the parliament's board stated that they have consulted with the "offices of the authorities" regarding adding Saturdays to the weekend holidays; the ball regarding holidays has landed in Khamenei's court; the Chamber of Commerce's request from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic for Saturday closures; the approval of the generalities of the bill to increase weekend holidays and reduce working hours; the parliament has added Saturdays to the weekend holidays; the ball is in the Guardian Council's court.