"Representatives Unaware of Difference Between Citizenship and Green Card"

The national security and foreign policy committee of Iran’s parliament, the Majlis, was scheduled to debate the issue of officials who hold dual nationality or Green Cards last week. The debate was put off but members of the committee now tell Rooz that the deputies who pursued that track have now changed tactics and want to go after those who hold the US permanent residency cards, the commonly known Green Card.

Javad Karimi Ghodoosi, a committee member who belongs to the hardline Steadfast Front had initially told Fars news agency that the national security committee of the Majlis would be discussing the issue of officials in the three branches of government holding dual nationality or the US Green Card. The discussion was aimed at focusing on the legal gaps that allow dual nationals to hold senior government positions, something the deputies want to prevent. But the plan was postponed because, as one committee member told Rooz, representatives who wanted to pursue this issue did not know the difference between a person holding a foreign nationality and one with a foreign residence permit, such as a Green Card. The official reason for the postponement was that the committee was not ready to take up the issue yet.

Mohammad Hassan Asfari, the secretary of the national security committee told Rooz, “We do not have dual nationals in the government, the Majlis or the judiciary because this is against the constitution. So there is no point in even discussing it.” He continued, “The issue of Green Cards has nothing to do with dual nationality. Green Holders are people who go to the US or other places and acquire residency permits and have to return there to renew them. The Green Card has nothing to do with dual nationals. A dual national is a person who has an identify card in Iran and in a foreign country. This is unlawful among officials of the Islamic Republic and anyone who has dual nationality does not have the right to hold any position in our country.”

Ahmad Bakhshayesh, another member of the same committee explained his view to Rooz in these words. “There was a discussion that some officials currently held dual nationality status but when the discussions continued it became clear that what they really had was a Green Card. Citizenship of a foreign is different because it gives you the right to participate in the elections of a foreign country (as a candidate) and to vote in that country. The Green Card does not have this option. A Green Card holder must return to the US after six months. Our officials too probably held Green Cards, which was discussed. When we discussed this, some members said it did not make a difference. A person who wanted to become a cabinet minister should not have a Green Card either. But this is a different issue that needs to be clarified by the Majlis. No plan for such a discussion has been presented till now.”

When asked whether the current resolution to discuss the issue was dead, Bakhshayesh said, “When the deputies realized the difference between a Green Card and citizenship, the issue was put to rest. Still, they want to bar a person who holds a Green Card from having any senior government position too, at the level of a cabinet minister or vice-minister, or be a Majlis representative.”

About three months ago 13 Majlis representatives, mostly from the hardline Steadfast Front, sent a formal notice to Hassan Rouhani asking him to prevent individuals that held dual citizenship from holding government jobs. Reports indicated that the Front had one specific person in mind in pushing for this discussion: Mohammad Nahavandian, President Hassan Rouhani’s chief of staff who has held a US Green Card for many years. The president’s office responded to the call by saying that the claim was a “lie” which should have been formally asked in the first place, and would have prevented the “hullabaloo.”