Iran lawmakers said to need 'at least' 60 days for nuke deal

Iran's parliament will need "at least" 60 days to review a proposed final deal with world powers over its contested nuclear programme, a prominent lawmaker said today, giving legislators in the Islamic Republic about the same time as the US Congress to examine the proposal.
But while hard-liners in Iran's parliament could vote against the deal struck last week in Vienna, their numbers wouldn't be enough to derail a proposal already backed by the country's supreme leader. That's even with an influential member of the country's Revolutionary Guard expressing concerns over the deal.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who headed the Iranian negotiating team, formally submitted the deal Tuesday to parliament. Hours later, the official IRNA news agency reported lawmakers formed a 15-member special committee to review the deal.

Under Iran's constitution, parliament has the right to reject any deal, even one negotiated by the Foreign Ministry. But committed hard-liners in the Iranian parliament hold only about 60 of the body's 290 seats, the rest belonging to conservatives and a handful of pro-reform lawmakers.
While hard-liners have drawn other lawmakers over to their side in previous votes, that appears unlikely in this case as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has endorsed the work of the nuclear deal negotiators.
The lawmakers' special committee may prove to be an olive branch to hard-liners, allowing them to vent their frustrations against world powers, especially the US, while parliament ultimately approves the deal.

Political analyst Saeed Leilaz said any hard-liner objections to the agreement likely deal with domestic politics alone, especially as a February parliamentary election looms ahead.

"The possible opposition by hard-liners only reflects their concerns about their political future since the deal gives leverage to President Hassan Rouhani," Leilaz said. "The talks have gone ahead under direct supervision by the supreme leader. The parliament has no power to say no."
It's not clear whether Iranian lawmakers will discuss and vote on the deal in an open session. State-run radio has carried previous votes on contentious issues live.
Hossein Naghavi, the spokesman of influential parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, told The Associated Press that "the parliament needs at least 60 days to review the deal.