Iran's conservative-controlled parliament moved Sunday to push through a bill that would oblige the reformist government to seeks its approval for any deals signed with foreign companies.
According to the state news agency IRNA, deputies decided to bring forward to Tuesday a vote on the text forcing the government to have parliament's approval of any deal where a foreign company has more than a 49 percent stake.
If passed, the law would be back dated and apply to any contract signed from the beginning of the current Iranian year on March 20, 2004.
The bill also singles out contracts related to airport services and telecommunications.
This is a direct reference to an airport building and operating contract signed with Tepe-Akfen-Vie (TAV) - an Austrian-Turkish consortium - and a mobile telephone service expansion deal due to be signed with Turkcell, Turkey's biggest mobile phone operator.
In May, Iran's hard-line Revolutionary Guards shut down Tehran's new airport, arguing the contract with TAV endangered the Islamic republic's security because the operators also had business dealings with Israel.