Iran has approved a law allowing Iranian mothers who are married to foreigners to pass on their citizenship to their children – elating rights campaigners who have been struggling for decades to reform the discriminatory practice.
The hardline Council of Guardians, a constitutional panel made up of senior conservative Shia clerics, surprised some Iran watchers on Wednesday by approving the law passed by parliament earlier this year.
Iranian men partnered with foreigners have their nationality automatically conferred upon their offspring, a rule widespread in Middle East countries and a legacy of the 19th century Franco-Belgian constitutional principles that influenced the region’s legal systems.