AFP, Tehran :
Iran’s parliament passed a bill Tuesday obliging the government to safeguard the country’s “nuclear rights and achievements,” despite talks with global powers on curbing the Islamic republic’s disputed atomic programme.
The measure was met by anger from President Hassan Rouhani’s government, with a spokesman saying the draft law was unconstitutional as it contravened the country’s defence and security policies.
The bill’s adoption reflects tension between Rouhani, a moderate who aims to end Iran’s diplomatic isolation, and a conservative-dominated legislature, where hardliners often dispute the worth of negotiations with the West.
The bill, which still has to be signed into law by Iran’s Guardian Council, says the government must “preserve the country’s nuclear rights and achievements” and states that lawmakers have to approve any deal that may be struck with the West.
Some 214 lawmakers out of 244 present supported it, with 10 against, six abstentions and the remainder not voting.
The vote came as hard bargaining over a final deal, due by June 30, was intensified by Britain and France, who reiterated that comprehensive inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities are essential compliance measures.
The bill allows inspections of nuclear sites but not military or sensitive non-nuclear establishments — a stipulation likely to alarm Western powers given their longstanding suspicion that Iran seeks to develop an atomic bomb.
Rouhani’s spokesman, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, said: “This bill contradicts article 176 of the constitution. The issue of negotiations is in the sphere of the Supreme National Security Council… not the government or the parliament.”
