Iran’s parliament on Tuesday approved the country’s nuclear deal with world powers, paving the way for the historic agreement curbing Tehran’s atomic program to take effect and for sanctions to end.
The vote came after fierce debate over the terms of the accord, which was struck on July 14, but has faced a rough ride from hardliners in Tehran and in the US Congress.
A motion to approve the deal passed 161-59, with 13 abstentions.
Photo: AFP
A tally on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the deal’s official name, said 250 of Iran’s 290 lawmakers were present, with 17 of them not voting.
State television did not broadcast the vote, but media outlets reported angry scenes, with some lawmakers shouting that their concerns had not been addressed.
A notorious critic of the nuclear diplomacy, Hamid Rasaie, was pictured on social media holding up a piece of paper declaring: “This is an official violation of law. Parliament is a sham.”
Another ultraconservative, Mehdi Kouchakzadeh, was quoted as saying: “This is no one’s decision; it is Larijani’s decision,” a reference parliament Speaker Ali Larijani’s refusal to let him speak.
The agreement between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group (Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany) came after almost two years of diplomacy.
Lawmakers in the US and Iran, sworn enemies since the Islamic revolution of 1979, had insisted on voting on it.
Opponents of the deal, including Israel and US lawmakers, say it bolsters Iran’s regional influence and is unlikely to halt a dash for the bomb should Tehran want one.
Tuesday’s vote again reiterated a permanent ban on the “production and use” of atomic weapons issued by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Rouhani on Tuesday thanked lawmakers for approving the deal, which he said would open new economic opportunities.
“After the sanctions relief we will enter a competitive international atmosphere,” he said on state television. “It will stimulate new activities and more cooperation with the world.”
Members of the US Congress last month failed to torpedo the deal, with US President Barack Obama securing enough support in the Senate to protect the agreement.
Investigators from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are set today to end their probe into Iran’s nuclear past, taking the next step toward the lifting of oil and financial sanctions imposed on Tehran.
The monitors had until today to collect information and question Iranian authorities about possible military dimensions of past nuclear activities, according to a July 14 agreement between Iran and the IAEA. Inspectors will then have until Dec. 15 to draft and present a final assessment of their inquiry.
Concluding the investigation sets the stage for the broader deal between Iran and world powers to enter into force on Sunday, so-called “Adoption Day,” when both sides begin implementing their commitments.
The US and Europe have pledged to draft legislation lifting financial and energy sanctions, while in Iran, engineers and technicians are to begin mothballing centrifuges at the Natanz and Fordo enrichment facilities as well as retrofitting a heavy-water reactor in Arak. They must also reduce their stockpile of enriched uranium by more than 95 percent.
Sanctions against Iran are likely to be lifted within the first three months of next year, diplomats say.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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