President Obama has quietly signed the legislation allowing Congress to review any nuclear agreement with Iran.
There was no formal ceremony, as there is for most major legislation. The White House press office simply issued a statement saying Obama had signed five bills Friday, and the Iran legislation was the fourth one listed.
In Tehran, talk of the Majlis taking legislative action to portray itself as the equal of the US Congress appears to have ground to a halt. There was talk of a bill copycatting the Congress by allowing the Majlis to review any agreement.
But the bill that was finally introduced by a leading hardliner ordered the Iranian negotiating tam to leave the talks until the United States apologized for “insulting” Iran. Several of the 80 deputies listed as sponsors cried foul and said they had signed no such bill.
The bill was supposed to have been taken up on an expedited basis. But it has simply disappeared from view. It isn’t clear if the Majlis will ever take it up.
