The lawmakers' show of muscle comes at a time when an agreement with international powers may be struck in Vienna within a matter of days.
An overwhelming majority of Iranian parliamentarians have agreed to outline tough criteria for the country's readmission to the 2015 nuclear deal, as a deal with foreign powers in Vienna looks to be on the verge of being reached.
On Sunday, 250 members of the 290-member parliament, which has been under the authority of conservatives and hardliners since 2020, called on President Ebrahim Raisi to comply to their criteria in resuming the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was suspended in 2011. (JCPOA).
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They asserted that the "cruel and terrorist" American government – as well as its "weak and contemptible" allies France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – has demonstrated that they are not bound by any agreement over the past few years, and that Iran must draw lessons from this and establish clear red lines in the future.
In their definition, receiving a guarantee from the US and the so-called E3 that they will not abandon the nuclear deal again – as Washington unilaterally did in 2018 under former President Donald Trump, who withdrew and imposed punishing sanctions – fell into this category, according to the legislators.
Their letter refers to a clause defined in the nuclear agreement that automatically reimposes United Nations sanctions on Iran if it violates the agreement. "The US regime and other countries party to the JCPOA must pledge that they will not use the snapback mechanism," they write in reference to the clause.
All restrictions imposed on the basis of "false justifications" must be withdrawn, according to the legislators. These include penalties imposed on the basis of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), the CAATSA, and U-Turn sanctions on dollar transactions, among other things.
In order to guarantee that their requests are effectively implemented, the legislators asked for an unclear "verification" procedure, following which Iran will take steps to dial back its nuclear advancements in order to once again be in complete conformity with the conditions of the JCPOA.
Iran began progressively increasing its nuclear capabilities in 2019 after waiting a year following the United States' withdrawal from the nuclear deal. Since December 2020, when the same parliament enacted a bill requiring the government of moderate former President Hassan Rouhani to take more measures, the process has escalated dramatically.
After two significant assaults on Iran's primary nuclear facility in Natanz, as well as the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a leading nuclear scientist, enough support was gained for the bill to pass. Iran accused Israel of being the perpetrators of the strikes in question.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is enriching uranium to up to 60% purity using modern centrifuges, although declaring that its nuclear program is completely benign. While the nuclear deal limits Iran's enrichment to 3.67 percent using first-generation equipment, the country's enrichment has increased.
To conclude, the parliamentarians reminded President Raisi on Sunday that his government may only move to cut down the nation's nuclear progress if the house supports the easing of US financial and oil sanctions against the country, according to the legislation.
Raisi, who, along with other conservatives, was a vocal opponent of the nuclear accord before demanding its restoration after assuming office in August 2021, has openly articulated requirements that are broadly in line with the parliament's vision for the pact.
His administration has stated that it wants all US sanctions imposed since 2018 repealed, and that it wants assurances that Washington would not backtrack on its commitments in the future. The United States also wishes to periodically check the removal of sanctions before reinstating restrictions on Iran's nuclear program.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
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