US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hands with the Consul General of the European Union, Emma Gilbey Kerr, after addressing a press conference at the US State Department in Washington, D.C. on June 3, 2019
In preparation for the constitutional convention scheduled to convene later this year in Iran, local media reported that the central and regional branches of parliament have passed bills granting broad privileges to its members.
The bills, passed by the Majlis, or the Iranian parliament, do not give explicit exemptions from the constitution and the Supreme Leader’s (supreme guide) rules for members of parliament.
According to local news, the president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), Maryam Rajavi, who is an MP, was among those who submitted the bill.
In a late May press conference, she called the law ‘historic’ and “the strongest measure” since the establishment of the Majlis in 1906.
The bills also grant some immunity to MPs who join the new opposition Ministries. Under the new law, the two ministers, given by President Hassan Rouhani, will be exempted from punishments for some crimes if they surrender all of their property, and the Central Bank of Iran will be established as the party’s party financial institution.
“We’re very happy the draft has been signed by the speaker of the majlis, so it is very clear for everyone what we’re aiming at and the bill states the rest,” Rajavi said in an interview with Press TV.
Referring to current changes in Iran, she said “these laws form a new course, we believe we have a permanent power in the post-revolution period that we’re setting out for the public of Iran.”
During the recent meeting between her and European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, she said that the EU has been a “friend” and the “breakthrough has happened in respect to these international matters.”
The president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, Maryam Rajavi, after meeting with FOCPOL’s Frederica Mogherini, announces the results of their discussion on the issues of the EU and the former regime in Iran during a press conference at the US State Department in Washington, D.C. on June 3, 2019
Rajavi added that the EU is part of the “extension and enhancement of the democratic status of the judiciary and the [law].”