IAEA Chief to Attend Majlis Meeting on JCPOA

IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano will travel to Tehran on Sunday to hold talks with senior Iranians officials and will attend a meeting of the Iranian parliament’s special commission that is reviewing the nuclear agreement.

Alireza Zakani, the head of the review commission of the Majlis, had earlier invited Amano to meet with his commission to answer questions on JCPOA, the nuclear agreement. The Iranian foreign ministry announced today that Amano has accepted the invitation and will attend a Sunday afternoon meeting of the commission. (Fars News Agency, 19 September)

Zakani is a leading opponent of JCPOA in Iran, and as the head of the review commission has an influential role in the parliamentary process to approve or disapprove the nuclear agreement. Majlis can also choose not to vote on JCPOA and instead refer its recommendations, including opposition to parts of the agreement, to the country’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for consideration.

UPDATE: Alireza Zakani, the head of Majlis commission reviewing JCPOA, today asked the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to deliver two secret documents to the commission that AEOI has signed with IAEA. Zakani said the documents deal with the Possible Military Dimensions (PMD) of Iranian nuclear program and a long-term plan with IAEA on continued inspection of Iranian nuclear sites and facilities. (IRNA, 19 September)

IAEA does not make its agreements with member states public, and AEOI is not expected to release the secret documents.