TEHRAN - Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the special aide to the speaker of the Iranian Parliament on international affairs, has said that the nuclear bill passed by Iran’s Parliament will create big opportunities for Tehran to lift sanctions.

“Diplomacy knows language of power. Iran's Parliament bill on 'sanctions removal' creates big opportunities. US/E3 have discredited JCPOA not to let Iran sell oil & get revenues. Russian, Chinese will is set for cooperation & acts against US sanctions. Weapon of sanctions must break down,” the special aide said in a tweet on Thursday.

Amir-Abdollahian was referring to a recent parliamentary bill that was passed into law on Wednesday after a ratification by the Guardian Council. On Tuesday, 251 lawmakers voted in favor of the outlines of the double-urgency plan, which is dubbed “Strategic Action to Lift Sanctions.” The bill, put forward by the lawmakers in early November, is part of a broader strategy that aims to lift the United States sanctions on Iran. It aims to force the United States into lifting sanctions on Iran by doubling down on nuclear activities.

The enactment of the bill came a few days after the assassination of prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

On November 27 at 14:30, nearly 10 people attacked the convoy of Fakhrizadeh on a highway in the small city of Absard in Damavand County, about 40 kilometers east of the capital Tehran. The scientist lost his life during the attack while his bodyguards were severely injured. Iranian officials were quick to point the finger at Israel, which has carried out many assassination operations against Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on the day of the assassination that the attack was carried out with “serious indications of Israeli role.”

Iran has vowed to respond to Israel in due time.

“All think tanks and all enemies of Iran should know well that the Iranian nation and the country’s authorities are more courageous and Zealous than to let this criminal act go unanswered. The relevant authorities will respond to this crime at the proper time,” President Hassan Rouhani said.

Meanwhile, Iranian lawmakers accelerated the process of passing the nuclear bill following the assassination of Fakhrizadeh and even described the bill as one of Iran’s options to respond to Israel by resuming nuclear activities.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said that the bill was a response to the killing of Fakhrizadeh.

The nuclear law provides a step by step process for the Iranian government to accelerate nuclear activities such as increasing uranium enrichment level to 20%, installing advanced IR-6 centrifuges, and restricting international inspection access to Iran’s nuclear sites. All these measures are conditional and would be taken step by step if the other parties failed to lift the economic sanctions on Iran.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has recently said that Iran will implement the nuclear law if the other parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal fail to remove the sanctions.

SM/PA