PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday, after Parliament’s acceptance of the nuclear deal

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Iran’s Guardian Council completed the approval of the July 14 nuclear deal with the 5+1 Powers on Wednesday, approving a bill passed by Parliament a day earlier.

The endorsement by the 12-member Council, made up of clerics and specialists in Islamic law appointed by the Supreme Leader, completed a sudden reversal of weeks of debate and hard-line opposition. Parliament had insisted on hearings and a formal vote, frustrating the Rouhani Government’s vision of a quick acceptance by the Supreme National Security Council.

Last weekend, President Rouhani warned of the damage to the already-crippled Iranian economy if the agreement was not soon passed, leading to sanctions relief. Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani echoed the need for urgency.

On Monday, one of the Supreme Leader’s top advisors, Asghar Mir Hejazi, met Larijani and the Supreme National Security Council’s head Ali Shamkhani to pave the way for passage. Parliament, which had passed the outline of the bill by a small majority on Sunday after an acrimonious debate, gave the agreement overwhelming support yesterday after only 20 minutes in session.

President Rouhani said on State TV on Tuesday night that the confirmation would bring recovery, with the Government introducing an economic stimulus bill.

Under the terms of the deal with the 5+1 (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia), the International Atomic Energy Agency must verify Iranian compliance with the terms before US and European Union sanctions can be lifted. The IAEA and Rouhani Government have both said they expect the verification around mid-December.

Some hardline MPs complained after Tuesday’s vote that the Supreme Leader’s advisors had acted inappropriately with the meeting to ensure adoption. Ayatollah Khamenei’s staff told Iranian news media to “exercise caution in attributing reports to the Supreme Leader’s office”.

Supreme Leader Praises Slain Commander of Iranian Forces in Syria

The Supreme Leader has praised General Hossein Hamedani, the commander of Iranian forces in Syria who was killed near Aleppo last Thursday.

Meeting students in Tehran on Wednesday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran’s “superior scientific position was attained thanks to the country’s security….Therefore you should appreciate security providers such as martyr Hamedani.”

Two other Iranian commanders — both heads of Revolutionary Guards brigades, one the leader of an elite commando unit — died in northern Syria earlier this week.

The Supreme Leader made the remarks as reports circulated of hundreds of Iranian troops joining the regime-Russian offensive against Syria’s rebels. Among them is General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Guards’ Qods Force.

See Syria Daily, October 15: Iranian Troops Reportedly Gathering Near Aleppo

Khamenei criticized university students’ trips to “some European countries” as “one of the most wrongful things”. Instead, he said, they should attend “Construction Jihad” camps for rural development and construction projects.

In another signal of Iran’s intentions in Syria, alongside Russian military intervention, Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan referred to the new coordinating center in Baghdad with Russia, Syria, and Iraq, hailing a “new joint action plan…for the complete elimination of the Islamic State”.

Dehghan claimed that “new developments in Syria are currently forming that, God willing, will prepare the groundwork for the complete elimination of takfiri groups”. He said Hamedani had prevented “the collapse of the Syrian army and, consequently, the fall of Damascus” with his organization of the Assad regime’s militia.

At the beginning of a three-day visit to Damascus, leading MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Iran will consider sending troops to Syria upon the request of the Assad regime.

Boroujerdi, who chairs Parliament’s National Security Commission, said any request will be discussed by the Majlis.

President Assad expressed his appreciation to Boroujerdi in a meeting on Thursday, saying that “the outcome of such anti-terror efforts and cooperation will serve the interests of all nations in the region and in the world”.