Iran’s parliament sets conditions for return to nuclear deal

An overwhelming majority of Iranian legislators have set to define strict conditions for a return to the country’s 2015 nuclear deal as an agreement with world powers in Vienna appears close.

In a statement read out on Sunday, 250 legislators in the 290-member parliament – in control of conservatives and hardliners since 2020 – called on President Ebrahim Raisi to adhere to their conditions in restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reports Aljazeera.

They said the “cruel and terrorist” American government – and its “weak and contemptible” followers France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – have shown they are not bound by any agreement over the past few years, so Iran must learn from the experience and set clear red lines.

The legislators defined those as receiving a guarantee by the US and the so-called E3 that they will not abandon the nuclear deal again – as Washington did unilaterally in 2018 under former President Donald Trump, who pulled out and imposed punishing sanctions.

“The US regime and other countries party to the JCPOA must pledge that they won’t use the snapback mechanism,” they wrote in reference to a clause defined in the nuclear accord that automatically reimposes United Nations sanctions on Iran if it breaches the deal.

The parliamentarians also asserted all sanctions imposed under “false excuses” must be lifted – which they defined as nuclear, terrorism, missile, and human rights designations, in addition to those under the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), and U-Turn sanctions on dollar transactions.