TEHRAN — A draft that is the basis of a final nuclear agreement has not been prepared yet, the deputy chairman of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee said on Monday.

Ebrahim Azizi said since the negotiations are still in the final stage of negotiations, and it is not completely over, the draft that is supposed to act as the foundation of the final agreement has not been prepared yet.

In an interview with IRNA on Monday, Azizi said, “I believe we should not judge prematurely. So far, no drafts have been submitted to the parliament and the specialized committee of the parliament, but in several meetings held with the presence of Mr. Amir Abdollahian and Bagheri, the content of the talks and the issues raised and the views of the parties have been explained.”

The MP added that the parliamentary Committee has held several meetings with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), and the Vienna talks have been examined from several angles, but the MPs have not seen a written draft yet.

Vienna negotiations haven’t concluded yet

Elsewhere in the interview, Azizi stated that the negotiations in Vienna have not ended. 

“It may have gotten close to a conclusion, but it has not reached the endpoint,” he said, adding that until the full text of the talks is formally submitted to the Parliament and the parliamentary committee by the Foreign Ministry, any further speculation is merely a personal opinion.

Regarding observing Iran’s red lines, the legislator said, “During all the meetings we had with Mr. Amir Abdollahian and Mr. Bagheri, they emphasized that we will do our best on this issue."

He then quoted the Foreign Ministry officials as saying, “We are focused on following the red lines set by the authorities and the parliament, and the law on lifting sanctions.”

Azizi pointed out that the emphasis of the negotiating team and the chief negotiator is on observing the red lines that the Islamic Republic has set for the negotiations. 
“There should be flexibility in the negotiation process, but it has never meant crossing the red line, and the parliament insists on these red lines and insists that these red lines be included in the final text,” the MP asserted.

He then noted that what has happened so far is that negotiations with intermediaries are still in the follow-up stage, and Iran does not have direct negotiations with the Americans.

In this regard, Fada Hossein Maleki, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the parliament, said, “As far as I know, no agreement has been reached between Iran and the West so that a draft would be prepared.”

The legislator continued by saying that the Iranian negotiating team has presented proposals to the Western side in the new round of negotiations.

Maleki also noted, “To date, the Foreign Ministry has not submitted a draft of the Vienna agreement to the parliament because no agreement has been reached.”