Iranian Lawmakers Approve Nuclear Deal
13 October 2015 - 7:20PM
Dow Jones News
DUBAI—Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday approved the implementation
of July's historic nuclear deal with six world powers , removing
one of the final obstacles within Iran's system to the accord.
A majority of Iran's parliament members approved the bill, which
directs the government to put the deal in place, according to the
official Islamic Republic News Agency.
The vote saw 161 in favor of the deal to 59 against, according
to IRNA. Thirteen members abstained. The parliament had approved
the basic outlines of the bill in a vote on Sunday.
All legislation approved by Iran's parliament must get a final
sign-off from the Guardian Council, a powerful 12-member clerical
body, before it becomes law. But the final say on all matters of
state, including the nuclear deal, rests with Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mr. Khamenei, a hard-line conservative, has endorsed the deal,
although he has repeatedly expressed reservations about U.S.
intentions and warned against American attempts to infiltrate Iran
since the agreement was signed in July.
The deal has been a foreign-policy goal for the government of
President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate in Iran's
ultraconservative political system.
Under the deal's provisions, Iran is to receive relief from
international sanctions that have crippled its economy.
In exchange, Tehran is to put curbs on its nuclear program,
reducing the number of uranium-enrichment centrifuges in operation
and converting some enrichment facilities into research
centers.
Iran's parliament carved out an oversight role for itself
through a bill in June that required it to verify that the deal met
Iranian requirements.
This mirrored the oversight that the U.S. Congress gave itself
through legislation in May. Congress eventually allowed the deal to
go through.
Write to Asa Fitch at asa .fitch@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 13, 2015 04:05 ET (08:05 GMT)
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