Who Holds the Command for the Opposition Gathering Against the Agreement?

The alignment of supporters and opponents of the Vienna agreement continues in Iran. While the Iran newspaper reported, quoting Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, that "according to the law obligating the government to preserve nuclear achievements, the JCPOA has been entrusted to the Supreme National Security Council," the Kayhan newspaper emphasized in its editorial that "the Supreme National Security Council cannot determine the fate of the parliament, which is its equal institution." Simultaneously, Kayhan's front page titled "Was this the win-win formula?!" reported that "Masoumeh Ebtekar, the Vice President, stated in an interview with the BBC that 'the nuclear agreement is a leverage in the hands of reformists.'" Kayhan wrote: "According to the alleged win-win formula, the U.S. will take national interests, and reformists will use the nuclear agreement as leverage for the upcoming elections." The Shargh newspaper reported on the request of fourteen members of parliament for the "trial of Saeed Mortazavi's deputies." The Etemad newspaper, in its Wednesday issue, two days after "a hundred opponents of the nuclear agreement gathered in front of the parliament demanding representatives to reject the JCPOA," quoted a parliament member describing these gatherings as "organized" and reported on the role of "hidden hands" behind these gatherings. The Arman newspaper, in its Wednesday front page, wrote that following serial complaints and even reports about the possibility of Ahmadinejad suing Rouhani, it cited the Jahan News website close to Alireza Zakani, a principlist parliament member, stating: "Now Jahan News has reported that Ahmadinejad is likely to appear in court to explain Hamid Baghaei's confessions." The Aftab Yazd newspaper dedicated its front page to Mohammad Mossadegh on the anniversary of the August 28, 1953 coup, noting the "absence of Mossadegh in the streets of the city" and wrote: "Among the various names of streets and avenues in Tehran, his absence is always felt, especially in the last days of Esfand and Mordad each year. Especially after a street was named after him, but it was changed shortly after." This newspaper pointed out that "many individuals have suggested naming a street after him, but so far his name has not been inscribed on any street," adding: "Interestingly, the name of his minister, Fatemi, has been placed on a street, but it seems none of the streets in the city has a place for him; this is for one of the greatest contemporary figures of Iran, namely Mohammad Mossadegh." The Jahan San'at newspaper dedicated its front page to Rahmatollah Mahabadi, the CEO of Iran Airports Company, reporting that in response to the disarray in air travel, he said: "We were not supposed to be accountable." The Shargh newspaper reported that after confirmations and denials, it was finally announced on Tuesday that the "Islamic Iran Freedom Party" belonging to "Eisa Kakoui," an advisor to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, has received a license. This newspaper emphasized that "the presidential candidate has aspirations for the parliament," writing that "the Qalibaf faction aims to seize 30 seats in Tehran from parliament." The Shahrvand newspaper published a report titled "Tehran, a Hollow Megacity," examining the crisis management situation in the capital and wrote: "The capital's crisis is a multifaceted crisis." This newspaper stated: "The 229-year-old capital of Iran, among various natural crises, is only safe from the occurrence of a tsunami. Now this city, which is significant in every respect, is surrounded by natural crises such as earthquakes, floods, various storms, volcanoes, etc., and of course, people have not spared it either, and industrial-technological crises, unsafe constructions, and overwhelming population are secondary crises that do not let this city go." The alignment regarding the Vienna agreement; the reference for reviewing the JCPOA, parliament or the Supreme National Security Council. The alignment of supporters and opponents of the Vienna agreement continues in Iran, while the Iran newspaper reported, quoting Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, that "according to the law obligating the government to preserve nuclear achievements, the JCPOA has been entrusted to the Supreme National Security Council." The Kayhan newspaper emphasized in its editorial that "the Supreme National Security Council cannot determine the fate of the parliament, which is its equal institution." According to the Iran newspaper, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, stated on Tuesday at a press conference that presenting the "bill" of the JCPOA to parliament is contrary to the constitution, saying: "The government acts regarding the nuclear agreement in accordance with Article 176 of the constitution. Therefore, the JCPOA is now under the authority of the Supreme National Security Council, which has legal authority according to the constitution." The government spokesman noted that "for the past 12 years, the nuclear file of Iran has been referred to the Supreme National Security Council," stating: "What was done regarding nuclear issues did not require permission from any other authority besides this council, just as the two Saadabad and Paris nuclear statements were not presented to parliament." He emphasized that when the resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council are approved by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, "they are binding for everyone and do not require the approval of the Islamic Consultative Assembly." He added that in addition, "the parliament, in the law obligating the government to preserve nuclear achievements, conditioned the implementation and effectiveness of negotiations on conditions such as the lifting of all sanctions at once and adherence to the resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council regarding the oversight of the Agency and research and development," thus "these matters have been entrusted to the Supreme National Security Council." The Iran newspaper also quoted the government spokesman stating: "Article 125 of the constitution addresses the signing of resolutions, treaties, agreements, and international contracts, and it is stated that any signature is contingent upon the approval of parliament. Therefore, if the president or his legal representative is to sign something, it must certainly be brought to parliament before signing; however, in the JCPOA, we do not sign any agreement." Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, however, stated that "only one part of the nuclear agreement requires a signature, which is the additional protocol that the government will present to parliament at the appropriate time, but in the JCPOA, no signature is made because it is a general understanding, and we do not sign any type of agreement with them; rather, a resolution was issued by the Security Council that lifted all sanctions against Iran at once." However, Kayhan, in an editorial titled "First, let the lawyers read it," wrote: "The issue of presenting the nuclear agreement in the form of a bill to parliament has been so attacked in the quotes of government officials that it seems to this group that the nuclear agreement should not be reviewed in parliament at all." This newspaper emphasized that "apparently the government officials are not going to present the prepared nuclear text to parliament and are preparing to circumvent the constitution," writing: "According to the explicit principles of Articles 77 and 125 of the constitution, all international legal treaties must be approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly; otherwise, they will not be enforceable," and again "according to the explicit principles of the same articles, an international treaty, under any name or title, if it is binding, requires the approval of parliament; thus, it does not matter whether the title of an international text is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA, or, for example, the nuclear agreement or any other title; as long as a commitment is accepted in a text, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, it requires the approval of parliament and the confirmation of the Guardian Council." Kayhan emphasized that "a glance at Article 176 of the constitution clearly indicates that the duties of the Supreme National Security Council are security-related," writing that "the JCPOA and its annexes impose extensive economic, political, cultural, military, educational, and research obligations on Iran, which certainly fall outside the scope of the Supreme National Security Council's duties, and according to the constitution, the only competent authority for reviewing and approving these matters is the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the Guardian Council of the constitution." This newspaper wrote that "the Supreme National Security Council can ultimately intervene in security matters regarding the JCPOA, express opinions, and possibly have a resolution regarding the security aspects of the JCPOA, which will gain enforceability only after being approved by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic." The editorial writer of Kayhan emphasized that "the Supreme National Security Council cannot determine the fate of the parliament, which is its equal institution," stating: "In other words, if the Supreme National Security Council considers itself competent to review the security aspects of the JCPOA, it cannot negate the parliament's competence in this regard, and it is the parliament that decides for its own competence, and as mentioned in the letter of more than two hundred representatives, the Islamic Consultative Assembly is competent and obligated to review and approve the JCPOA and its annexes." The letter from 14 parliament members to the head of the judiciary; a request for the trial of Saeed Mortazavi's deputies. The Shargh newspaper reported on the request of fourteen members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly for the "trial of Saeed Mortazavi's deputies." According to this newspaper, fourteen members of the ninth parliament and members of the investigative committee of the Social Security Organization emphasized in their letter to Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, the necessity of "investigating the crimes of Mortazavi's deputies." Ameneh Shirafkan, a parliamentary reporter for Shargh, noted that "the outcome of Mortazavi's court case so far is: restitution, imprisonment, and acquittal in one of the cases," writing: "However, the representatives have another demand. They particularly want to investigate the crimes of his deputies regarding the Social Security Organization," and "the reasons for this emphasis have been explicitly stated; Mortazavi's deputies have shone alongside him in recent years, and most of them have left their mark in the Social Security Organization's violation case." This newspaper wrote that only one of the short sentences in the 84,000-page report of the investigation into the Social Security Organization shows that 6 billion and 243 million tomans were approved for payment to about 50 members of the board of trustees, the CEO, and other levels of management of the Social Security Organization, with one person's share being 400 million tomans," and "these payments were signed by Saeed Mortazavi, the then-head of the Social Security Organization." The investigative committee also stated in paragraph 24 of its report: "In 2012, the CEO and all board members, including Mr. Saeed Mortazavi, Samadollah Firoozi, Behnam Parhizkar, Alireza Asgariyan, Nouraldin Shahnazizadeh, Alireza Koochak-Saraei, and Aziz Dolatkhah each received 50 million tomans in interest-free loans, and in this matter, apart from three cases of urgent loans and housing deposits, no other cases were observed." Hossein Dehdashti, one of the signatories of the letter to the head of the judiciary, told Shargh: "There has not been a mistake that Mortazavi has not committed in the Social Security Organization; restitution and imprisonment are related to a small part of his crimes, and the Social Security case is still on the way. So far, only part of Mortazavi's case in the Social Security Organization has been addressed, which pertains to his illegal presence as the head of the Social Security Organization." The representative of Abadan in the ninth parliament also stated: "Once Mortazavi's violations in this first section are established, all other issues will be revealed, that all of Mortazavi's subsequent signatures and decisions were illegal, and fundamentally his presence as head of the organization after the ruling of the Administrative Justice Court was incorrect and illegal," adding that "the role of Mortazavi's deputies in the Social Security violation case is prominent, and the representatives in this letter have requested the head of the judiciary to prosecute Mortazavi's deputies." Nader Qazizpour, another signatory of the letter to the head of the judiciary, also told Shargh: "We demand the judiciary to thoroughly investigate the case of Saeed Mortazavi and other involved parties in this financial violation case." This member of the investigative committee of the Social Security Organization emphasized that "Mr. Mortazavi has oppressed workers, and his entire management period in the Social Security Organization is under question," stating: "The parliamentary investigation report from the Social Security Organization has not yet gone to court, and the case is in the investigation stage. This matter has been divided into several separate cases and is set to be examined in different branches." The Shargh newspaper quoted Nader Qazizpour stating: "In discussions that the investigating representatives had with the case investigator, it was agreed that all aspects of the violations and crimes committed in the Social Security Organization, especially the violations of Mortazavi's deputies and the former board of directors of the Social Security Organization, would be examined in detail." "Saeed Mortazavi's gifts for 37 members of parliament" is among other issues mentioned in paragraph 27 of the parliamentary investigation report from the Social Security Organization, which stated that in a face-to-face negotiation, Mortazavi declared that "on the condition of not disclosing the identity of the representatives, he would deliver the relevant list to the head of the committee," but "the response of the head of the committee to Saeed Mortazavi was that no document in the investigation would be confidential." Shargh named Hossein Dehdashti, Behrouz Namati, Nader Qazizpour, Abdollah Samari, Seyyed Saeed Zamaniyan, Amir Hossein Qazizadeh, Mohsen Alimardani, Mehdi Eisa Zadeh, Mohammad Mahdi Pourfathmi, Abbas Qaid Rahmat, Iraj Abadi, Nematollah Manocheri, Alireza Mohajoub, and Shahrouz Afkhami as the 14 members of the investigative committee of the Social Security Organization and signatories of the letter to the head of the judiciary for the prosecution of Saeed Mortazavi's deputies.