Motahari said that because the intention was to harass Rouhani’s government, they insisted on having the JCPOA approved in the parliament as well.
Probably many untold stories remain about the behind-the-scenes pressures on Rouhani’s government aimed at disappointing voters from any reforms and reformists and moderates, and some of them are unlikely to be revealed.
In this situation, the deputy speaker of the tenth parliament wrote that in 2015, when the JCPOA was about to be signed, there was pressure from inside and outside the parliament that it should be approved by the parliament. We said this is a joint action agreement between the Iranian government and the governments of the P5+1 and does not need approval. None of the opposing countries took it to their parliament either. But because the intention was to attack and harass the previous government and its negotiators, in the end, the order came that the parliament should also review and approve it.
Ali Motahari continued that the national broadcaster aired the sessions of this commission, which were full of attacks and insults towards the government and the foreign minister, live for about a month.
He added that this is a clear example of double standards: in one government, the JCPOA must be reviewed in the parliament and the government should be insulted for a month, while in another government, there is no need for the JCPOA with its additions to be reviewed in the parliament.