Senior MP: Any Deal with 5+1 Should Receive Parliament’s Okay

"If the negotiations bear results, then any final agreement will need the parliament's approval," member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Esmayeel Kowsari told FNA on Tuesday.

He noted that due to the stances and excessive demands of the Western side, "I do not think that we will achieve results in this round, but the negotiating team is making strong efforts" to this end.

Last week, the first meeting of Iran's nuclear workgroup was held in Tehran with parliamentary and government officials in attendance.

Deputy Head of the parliament's Research Center Javad Jahangirzadeh, member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Abbas Ali Mansouri Arani, Foreign Ministry's Director General for International Security and Political Affairs Hamid Bae'idinejad, Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi and representative of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Colonel Mohammad Ali Pour Mortazavi participated in the meeting held at the venue of the parliament's Research Center in Tehran on Sunday.

During the meeting, the participants studied different aspects of the Geneva agreement (inked by Tehran and the world powers in November), the considerations of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) in negotiations over drafting a final deal, the security considerations related to the visits by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to different sites in Iran and the technical aspects of redesigning Arak heavy water reactor (which went under discussion during the talks between Iran and the G5+1).

Senior Iranian negotiator in talks with the world powers Seyed Abbas Araqchi announced in May that Tehran would not discuss any change in the nature of its heavy water reactor in the Central city of Arak but would try to obviate the westerners' concerns in this regard.

"Different solutions and options have been raised about Arak, the most important of which is what Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi has said and obviates the concerns about Arak by making some technical changes in certain parts of the reactor to reduce the amount of plutonium which may cause concern," Araqchi told reporters on in Vienna.

Stressing that the nature of Arak heavy water reactor won't change at all, he said, "The power of Arak reactor won't reduce and it will continue its predesigned path and we will possibly decrease or obviate the concerns existing about it by some changes." Asked about Iran's nuclear Research and Development activities, Araqchi underlined that no limitations can be envisaged for R&D activities, adding that stopping Iran's R&D program has never been actually demanded by the world powers in the negotiations and will never be accepted by Tehran.

Iran and the G5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) sealed an interim deal in the Swiss city of Geneva on November 24, 2013 to pave the way for the full resolution of the decade-old dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear standoff with the West. The deal came into force on January 20.

Under the Geneva deal, dubbed the Joint Plan of Action, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.

The sixth round of talks between Iran and the G5+1 over a comprehensive final deal is slated for July 2-20.