President Says Non-Attendance at Parliament in Accordance with Health Protocols
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he has absented himself from a parliamentary session for the submission of the national budget bill because of the coronavirus restrictions, not his disagreement with the MPs over ratification of a motion about the JCPOA and the NPT.
Speaking at a weekly cabinet session on Wednesday morning, Rouhani said he has only obeyed the health protocols defined by the Coronavirus Fight National Headquarters to avoid attending the parliamentary session to submit the proposed budget bill.
He also dismissed media speculations linking his absence to a bill on “strategic action” for lifting of the sanctions and safeguarding national interests that was ratified by the lawmakers on Tuesday.
“Of course, the administration disagrees with that measure and deems it harmful to the process of diplomatic activities. But non-attendance at the Parliament was only because of the health protocols, and nothing else,” the president added.
Rouhani further said that Iran is going to experience new conditions in the next year considering that the sanctions, the full-fledged economic war, and the maximum pressures of the past three years have ended in failure.
The administration’s proposed budget bill for the next Iranian fiscal year was submitted to the Parliament on Wednesday by Hossein Ali Amiri, the vice president for parliamentary affairs.
The administration says it disagrees with a decision by the Parliament to advance the bill that would require the government to suspend the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and block inspections beyond the Safeguards agreements.
