TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's parliament speaker warned Sunday that lawmakers could call for stepped-up atomic work if the West presses too hard for concessions in ongoing nuclear negotiations.
The message from Ali Larijani less than a week after talks resumed appears aimed at both envoys from the West and Iran's negotiation team, which is led by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. It also highlights the political jockeying inside Iran between backers of moderate-leaning President Hassan Rouhani and hard-liners wary of his outreach to Washington.
Larijani's comments follow appeals by some members of the U.S. Congress to tighten sanctions on Iran despite the nuclear negotiations and historic diplomatic breakthroughs last month, including President Barack Obama's telephone call to Rouhani. Larijani, meanwhile, told Iran's representatives that parliament would not permit world powers to impose "special measures" on the country beyond the obligations laid out by the U.N. treaty overseeing nuclear activity, such as U.N. monitoring and inspection.
Iran's ruling clerics approve all major policies and decisions, but parliament holds enough clout to potentially disrupt talks in response to Western demands to curb the program. Such resistance from Iran's parliament could throw doubts on Rouhani's ability to strike a deal with world powers in the same way that protests in Congress could stand in the way of potentially easing sanctions.
On Sunday, Rouhani told a Cabinet meeting to be careful about foreign enemies' plans for damaging unity in the country, the official IRNA news agency reported. Rouhani said Israel is trying to undermine the ongoing nuclear negotiations.