A senior council of Iranian clerics and lawyers on Wednesday approved implementing the landmark nuclear deal with world powers, sealing the final required step in the process despite hard-liners' efforts to derail it.
The Guardian Council's vote, while apparently not unanimous, marks a major victory for the administration of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, which has campaigned on easing tensions with the West. But it comes as Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard publicized images of an underground missile base and also has fired off a new long-range surface-to-surface rocket, showing hard-liners will remain a potent force within the Islamic Republic.
Iranian state television announced the decision by the Guardian Council, one of the top leadership bodies in Iran's cleric-ruled system. The 12-member council, half appointed by Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and half by the country's judicial chief with parliament's approval, must sign off on all bills before they become law.
Nejatollah Ebrahimian, the council's spokesman, said the body approved the parliamentary bill implementing the deal "by an absolute majority of the votes." He did not offer a voting breakdown. The council meets behind closed doors.
Some council "members raised objections to the bill and found it contrary to the constitution. There were debates," state television quoted Ebrahimian as saying.