Iran’s hard-liners decry new deal with IAEA
The IAEA and Iran have agreed to lower the temperature on the nuclear crisis, but only for three months, sparking backlash from hard-liners in parliament.
After the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief's recent trip to Iran, the two sides agreed to hold off on some of the harsh measures Iran had planned to adopt in response to the US withdrawal of the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran’s hard-liners, who had passed a bill that would reduce Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA, have cried foul.
Rafael Grossi’s announcement in Vienna after his trip to Iran has relieved many observers who closely monitor the nuclear crisis with Iran. A December 2020 bill called the Strategic Action to Remove Sanctions called on Iran to suspend their voluntary implementation of Additional Protocols of the nonproliferation treaty on Feb. 23. Iran had agreed to the Additional Protocols, which gave the IAEA broader access to Iran’s nuclear program, in 2003. The understanding between the IAEA and Iran, which was discussed with the Hassan Rouhani administration, has given the two sides a three-month window.
Mojtaba Zolnour, head of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said in response to the decision, “The administration does not have the right to make decisions or arbitrary actions.” He said Rouhani’s promise that Iran will return to its full commitments whenever the United States reenters the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) “shows weakness.”
Zolnour said Rouhani going behind the scenes to make a deal with the IAEA is “an insult to parliament” and also “a clear violation of the bill.” He said there should be a legal case opened against the president and anyone else who was involved in the decision with the IAEA. He referred to the Rouhani administration as “servants of the West” and said parliament should not pass another bill until the current bill is fully implemented.
