Iran’s parliament approves nuclear pact

Iran’s parliament approved of the international accord aiming to limit the country’s nuclear program on Tuesday, paving the way for the agreement to be adopted this weekend.

The conservative-dominated parliament — called the Majlis — approved a motion to implement the agreement by a vote of 161-59, according to state media. Thirteen members of parliament abstained from the vote. 

{mosads}The bill now will be reviewed by a 12-member council of senior clerics, who are expected to approve it.

Iran is scheduled to begin technical work enacting limits on its nuclear program on Oct. 18, known as Adoption Day.

That same day, the U.S. and other nations will release draft measures to roll back crippling sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors. Those sanctions will not actually be lifted until international regulators declare that Iran has met a number of obligations on its nuclear program, which is not expected until next spring.

The deal has yet to win the explicit approval of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei has also declined to disapprove of the deal, but the lack of his clear endorsement caused some conservative lawmakers to oppose the bill.

Instead, Khamenei has said that it is up to the parliament to decide whether to move ahead with the pact.

A spokesman for President Hassan Rouhani cheered the vote as a “historic decision.”

“Members of parliament made a well-considered decision today showing they have a good understanding of the country’s situation,” Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said, according to The Associated Press. “We hope to see acceleration in progress and development of the country from now on.” 

Critics of the agreement in the U.S. failed to kill the deal earlier this year, after a dedicated lobbying effort from the Obama administration and European diplomats.

The nuclear deal was reached in Vienna in July, following nearly two years of negotiations that threatened to collapse at multiple times.