Report on Citizenship Law: Iran the term ‘any diplomatic position or delegation’ is rather ambiguous as it does not specify whether the positions concerned are only limited to those related to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or it refers to a broader range of positions. 4. Loss and Renunciation of Iranian Nationality 4.1. Renunciation of Citizenship The renunciation of Iranian nationality is subject to the fulfilment of several conditions 87 . Despite the fact that the age of majority in Iran is under 1888, 25 years of age is the minimum for renunciation of citizenship. Under Article 13 of Citizenship Act of 1929, the legal age for renouncing Iranian citizenship was 18 years89 but this age was not considered sufficient by the new legislature90. It has been argued that performing military service in Iran was one of the factors taken into account for stipulating this age91. The second requirement for a renunciation application is the permission of the Council of Ministers. It should be noted that, according to the law, this Council is the sole authorised body on this matter and no other authority can interfere in its decisions. However, in order to facilitate this procedure, the 1967 Cabinet's Resolution gave the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the authority to review the documents and to decide on the applications 92 . The decision is discretionary and, therefore, the authorised body has the discretion to reject an application93. The third requirement for a renunciation application is having performed military service in Iran. Paragraph 4 of Article 988 of the Civil Code stipulates that those who wish to renounce their Iranian citizenship must have performed or completed their military service. It should be noted that women and holders of exemption cards are exempted from this condition by law94. Additionally, a person applying for renunciation of citizenship must relinquish all their rights to immovable property that they possess in Iran or may possess through inheritance, to an Iranian national, within one year from the date of renunciation. It is particularly interesting as in this case the person renouncing their Iranian nationality is required to hand over all their rights even on those assets and properties that are legally allowed to be owned by foreigners. It 87 Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 23 May 1928, Art. 988. ‫ ﺑﮭﺷﯾد ارﻓﻊ‬، ‫ﺣﻘوق ﺑﯾن اﻟﻣﻠل ﺧﺻوﺻﯽ‬،١٣٧۴، ١١٠‫ﻧﯾﺎص‬. (Behshid Arfania, International Private Law, 5th. ed, Tehran: Aqiq publication, 1995, page 110). 89 ‫ﻣﺣﻣد ﻧﺻﯾری‬، ‫ﺣﻘوق ﺑﯾن اﻟﻣﻠل ﺧﺻوﺻﯽ‬،١٣٧٢، ٧۶‫ص‬. (Mohamad Nasiri, International Private Law, 1st. ed, Tehran: Agah publication, 1993, page 76). 90 ‫ ﺑﮭﺷﯾد ارﻓﻊ‬، ‫ﺣﻘوق ﺑﯾن اﻟﻣﻠل ﺧﺻوﺻﯽ‬،١٣٧۴، ١١٠‫ﻧﯾﺎص‬. (Behshid Arfania, International Private Law, 5th. ed, Tehran: Aqiq publication, 1995, page 110). 91 ‫ﺑﺎﯾﺳﺗﮫ‬،١٣٨٠، ٩۵ ‫ ﻣﺣﻣود ﺳﻠﺟوﻗﻲھﺎي ﺣﻘوق ﺑﯾنص‬، ‫اﻟﻣﻠل ﺧﺻوﺻﻲ‬. (Mahmoud Saljooghi, The Rules of International Private Law 1st. ed, Tehran: Mizan publication, 2001, page 95). 92 ‫ ﺑﮭﺷﯾد ارﻓﻊ‬، ‫ﺣﻘوق ﺑﯾن اﻟﻣﻠل ﺧﺻوﺻﯽ‬،١٣٧۴، ١١٠‫ﻧﯾﺎص‬. (Behshid Arfania, International Private Law, 5th ed, Tehran: Aqiq publication, 1995, page 110). 93 ‫ ﺣﻘوق ﺑﯾن‬،١٣٨۴، ۶۴ ‫ ﺳﯾد ﻣﺣﺳن ﺷﯾﺦ اﻻﺳﻼﻣﻲص‬، ‫اﻟﻣﻠل ﺧﺻوﺻﻲ‬. (Seyed Mohsen Sheykholeslami, International Private Law 1st. ed, 2004, page 64). 94 ‫ ﺟواد ﻋﺎﻣري‬، ‫ﺣﻘوق ﺑﯾن اﻟﻣﻠل ﺧﺻوﺻﯽ‬،١٣۶٢، ۶٣‫ ص‬. (Javad Ameri, International Private Law, 2nd. ed, Tehran: Agah publication, 1983, page 63). 88 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/13 - © 2020 Author(s) 13