[JURIST] Iran’s Parliament [official website] on Tuesday voted 161-59, with 13 abstentions, to accept the nuclear agreement [text] that was introduced and agreed upon by world powers over the summer. Under the terms of the deal, Iran agrees to remove two-thirds of its centrifuges, ship all spent fuel from the reactor out of the country, and limit uranium research and development to a single facility. Iran’s Guardian Council will review the legislation accepting the nuclear deal and then will send it back to parliament for further review. President Hassan Rouhani [BBC profile] called parliament’s decision “historic” [AP report] and expressed his continued support for the deal.

The nuclear agreement was reached in July after the 20-month negotiations continued through several deadlines [JURIST reports] in hopes of progress. Over the past several years Iran has been subject to numerous sanctions for its contentious nuclear program. Iranian leaders have repeatedly claimed [JURIST report] that the developing nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the international community, Israel in particular, worries that Iran’s enrichment program was designed for military purposes. The US and France agreed [JURIST report] in March to strengthen nuclear talks with Iran to persuade the nation to restrain its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions and in April Iran agreed [JURIST report] to a framework deal to restrict its nuclear plan. A report obtained by the Associated Press in July from the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website] showed [JURIST report] that Iran has been keeping its commitment as part of a preliminary nuclear deal from 2013 barring Iran from expanding nuclear programs during negotiations.