Open Session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly Held

The public session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly was held on Monday evening, July 13, in Baharestan, with 259 members of parliament in attendance, and the bill to amend Note 1 of Article 1 of the Parliament’s internal regulations was approved. According to published reports, this amendment allows Parliament, in emergency situations, to hold public sessions virtually or at a location other than Parliament’s permanent premises, while also enabling voting and lawmaking. In the same session, the bill titled “Strategic Action for Securing and Ensuring the Sustainable Development of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf” was also formally introduced.

• In various reports, the time of the session was given as “Monday evening, July 13,” and the venue was identified as Baharestan.
• The number of attendees in all reports was 259 members of parliament.
• ISNA wrote that the bill to amend Note 1 of Article 1 of the Parliament’s internal regulations was approved, and under it, Parliament can hold public sessions virtually and without physical حضور in emergency situations.
• ISNA also reported that this mechanism makes voting and lawmaking possible even in an emergency.
• IRNA and Mehr reported that the mechanism for holding sessions in emergencies was approved and highlighted it as the main outcome of the meeting.
• In its Telegram version, IRNA wrote that the general outlines of the bill were approved with 211 votes in favor.
• In one of its reports, Mehr recorded the vote counts differently, writing that the general outlines of the bill were approved with 211 votes in favor, 35 against, and 2 abstentions.
• That same Mehr report added that the detailed provisions of the bill were approved with 210 votes in favor, 30 against, and 4 abstentions, out of a total of 255 members present.
• In IRNA’s Telegram report, the details were cited as passing with 210 votes in favor and 30 against.
• In reports by ISNA, Shargh, Jamaran, IRIB, and several other media outlets, the formal introduction of the bill “Strategic Action for Securing and Ensuring the Sustainable Development of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf” was separately highlighted.
• Jamaran named Somayeh Rafiei as the member of the parliamentary presidium who read out the formal introduction of the bill.
• In Shargh’s report, Farshad Ebrahimpour, a member of the parliamentary presidium, said that tonight’s public session was held and the Strait of Hormuz-related bill was formally introduced in it.
• Iran International, citing “Khabar-e Mellat,” wrote that the session was held under the chairmanship of Hamidreza Haji Babaei, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and quoted the text of the new mechanism.
• The quoted text from “Khabar-e Mellat” states that in emergencies and special circumstances in the country, if, according to the Presidium’s assessment, the presence of representatives and the holding of a session at the specified location are not possible, the session shall be held at another location other than the permanent site or on a virtual platform.
• In one of its reports, IRNA provided background on the suspension of in-person sessions and wrote that the last public session before the…