Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf finds himself at the center of this legislative friction. Although he supports countering foreign infiltration, Qalibaf has publicly pushed back against the draft’s most intrusive measures, which would mandate prior state approval for routine activities like academic cooperation, publishing, and media interviews. He argued that requiring permission for every interaction would effectively lock the country down, signaling a refusal to grant the Intelligence Ministry and the IRGC total oversight over civilian life.

The bill, which expanded from 19 to 33 articles, faces resistance that defies typical ideological divides. Critics, including Vice President Hossein Afshin, warn that the legislation threatens to trigger scientific stagnation and an accelerated brain drain. Meanwhile, MP Mohammad Mehdi Shahriari has dismissed the draft as a hasty product of inexperienced lawmakers that contradicts national interests. Even as the government of President Masud Pezeshkian seeks to shelve the project, the legislative process continues, with only the first two articles cleared by the floor and the most contentious sections sent back to committee for revision.

International pressure is mounting alongside these internal concerns. UN representatives have urged the withdrawal of the bill, warning that it risks criminalizing fundamental freedoms and further severing Iran’s ties to the global community. Despite the consensus that foreign intelligence penetration is a grave threat, the debate has shifted to a fundamental question: whether a security-first approach can be sustained without destroying the very society the state intends to protect.