How does Iran make nuclear decisions?
While Iran's supreme leader has the final say on Iran's nuclear program, the decision-making process and the various institutions involved are very hard to parse.
Controversy and confusion abound about how Iran makes decisions on the nuclear issue as the country and world powers near their deadline to reach a comprehensive deal.
On Feb. 4, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported, “The Supreme Nuclear Committee is not convening.” The Supreme Nuclear Committee (SNC) operates under the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the top decision-making body in Iran.
Though Mehr’s headline should raise the eyebrows of Iran observers, it did not get much attention abroad. The article featured an interview with parliament member Mohammad Saleh Jokar, who also asserted that the parliament no longer has “oversight of the negotiations.” He stated that the SNC was no longer meeting at all, as “the government doesn’t see any need for the expert discussions of this committee.” Going further, Jokar claimed, “Even when the committee was convening, [chairman of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin] Boroujerdi was for a long time not invited.”
Jokar made reference to the “Supreme Nuclear Committee,” while in another statement the day before, on Feb. 3, the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, said the “Nuclear Experts Committee” has not been convening for months, also alleging that this deprived parliament of oversight of the negotiations.
