Abdelhosein Ruholamini, a member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Parliament), stated during a televised program on Friday, May 29, that permission has been requested from Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, for several weeks to allow virtual "legislating and voting" in parliament.
According to Ruholamini, despite the suspension of military attacks and the establishment of a ceasefire, security agencies still do not permit members of parliament to gather in person.
In this interview, he confirmed that Mojtaba Khamenei has not responded to the lawmakers' request for authorization over the past few weeks. Ruhollah Izadkhah, another representative of the people of Tehran in parliament, also confirmed during the same televised broadcast that virtual sessions of lawmakers have been held using "special tablets," but under the parliament's internal regulations, "virtual voting" is not permitted.
Ruhollah Izadkhah remarked, "Because we were in the middle of a war, we handled the 2026 budget via text message, asking members to reply 'yes' if they agreed and 'no' if they disagreed."
Following the onset of military strikes by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic, the first session of parliament was held via video conference on May 10. The last open in-person session of parliament had taken place on February 17.
