TEHRAN - Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Abbas Araqchi said his ministry is not the legal entity responsible for deciding about the Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Foreign Ministry said on its website.

Pointing to the different legal views existing in regards with the JCPOA, he said bodies other than the Foreign Ministry are charged with making decisions about the JCPOA.

He stressed that from a political point of view which focuses on the country’s national interests, the foreign ministry believes that the act of the Iranian parliament to endorse the JCPOA contradicts the principle of balance and symmetry of action which is followed by all parties involved in nuclear agreement, given the fact that none of them is going to take the document to their parliaments for a final decision.

His remarks came in reaction to some commentaries made in a recent TV program about the JCPOA.

The Deputy Foreign Minister stressed that he had been misquoted and that his remarks were chopped.

The chief nuclear negotiator had been quoted as saying that it would not be appropriate within the framework of national interests if Majlis (Parliament) intended to ratify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers.

In a televised program on Monday night, Araqchi said, “Prior to deciding on the procedure of submitting JCPOA to Majlis, one should answer the question whether it needs its approval or not. If yes, then it should be decided how Majlis can approve it.”

He referred to Article 77 of the Constitution which stipulates treaties have to be ratified by Majlis and added, “It should be studied whether JCPOA is one of such treaties.”

When a case is referred to the Supreme National Security Council, it moves out of Majlis capacity. The nuclear issue has been reviewed by the council for the past 12 years.

Noting that there are differing legal approaches on the nuclear agreement, he said some hold that because JCPOA is not a treaty, it does not need ratification by Majlis.

Araqchi added, “In our view, the approach that does not regard JCPOA as a treaty, but a set of voluntary actions, and therefore does not need approval of Majlis is stronger.”

In addition to the two legal views, there is also a political view held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which looks at the issue of JCPOA approval by Majlis from the national interests’ perspective.

MD/OSN