Iran's lawmakers, government in power struggle over nuclear deal

Rivalry over influence on a wide-ranging nuclear deal erupted Tuesday between the Iranian parliament and the government, when lawmakers passed legislation that bans international nuclear inspections of military sites.
According to dpa, the dispute came just a week before Iran and six major powers plan to conclude the agreement.
The government of moderate President Hassan Rowhani said that Tuesday's decision by the conservative-dominated legislature violated the constitution.
"The nuclear talks have nothing to do with parliament, but only with the National Security Council, according to the constitution," government spokesman Mohammed Baghher Nobacht said.
The members of the National Security Council are installed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who also has the final say on the body's decisions.
The planned agreement would not only oblige Iran to scale down its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions, but would also impose a strict inspection regime on its nuclear installations.
Access to sites run by the country's large military establishment are one of the unresolved issues ahead of the June 30 deadline that both sides have set.
Rowhani has not ruled out such inspections, as long as they are coordinated with Iran in advance, while the six powers seek broad access rights for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.
Even if Iranian negotiators agreed to military site visits, parliament would need to approve the IAEA's Additional Protocol, an intrusive regime of short-notice inspections that is being implemented in many countries.
Senior diplomats from Iran and the European Union were meeting Tuesday in Vienna to draft the deal and would be joined by counterparts from the group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany in the course of the week, the EU diplomatic service said.
Foreign ministers from the involved countries are expected to take over the talks at the weekend, but no date for their arrival has been announced.