Any agreement reached must be notified to the parliament

January 14, 2022 - 21:57

TEHRAN — A member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the parliament has said that any agreement reached in Vienna must be notified to the parliament.

Negotiations are underway in Vienna to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“Any agreement reached must be notified to the Majlis before it is finally signed,” Zohreh Elahian said, IRNA reported on Friday. 

Emphasizing the parliament's support for Iran’s negotiating team, the MP said, “These negotiations will be pursued within the framework of the establishment, and the current team will pay special attention to the red lines and will submit a report to the Majlis.”

Elahian said last week Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian attended the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee to share views with the MPs sitting on committee. 

She added according to the parliamentary strategic law on lifting sanctions, the government, foreign ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) are obliged to present the results and process of negotiations to the parliament. 

Elsewhere in her remarks, she Iran needs to follow a balanced foreign policy, which is being pursued by the sitting Ebrahim Raisi administration. 

“The Islamic Republic needs to interact with the outside world with all its international capacities through following a balanced foreign policy,” she maintained 

The female MP from Tehran added Iran cherished a balanced foreign policy since Raisi took over as president in August last year. 

The MP also defended Iran’s move to establish close economic ties with Russia and China as two great countries with abundant capacities, suggesting that using the cementing ties with these two countries are important for Iran. 

The remarks by the lawmaker comes as Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian has visited China and President Raisi is also scheduled to visit Russia on January 19.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Raisi’s visit to Moscow is highly important.

“The visit of the foreign minister to China is important in advancing the goals of economic diplomacy,” Elahian remarked. 

Elahian added, “According to the 25-year agreement between Iran and China, the capacities of this country can be used in the development of economic and trade ties.”

She noted that China is recognized as the world's leading economy, and economic interactions with this country can neutralize many issues related to the unilateral U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

China is considered the second largest economy in the world. Some experts argue that China’s economy is even bigger than the United States’. True or not, it is inevitable that China will supersede the U.S. in terms of economy in the next decade.