Biden talks about the Iran nuclear deal 4:20
(CNN) -
Iran's parliament passed a bill that would push uranium enrichment to pre-2015 levels and block nuclear inspections if sanctions are not lifted, following the assassination of a top nuclear scientist.
Iran's more moderate President Hassan Rouhani, whose government signed the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, opposed the bill, arguing that it would undermine diplomacy.
Iran's government has repeatedly called on the United States to reinstate the agreement from which President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to return to the pact.
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The draft law for the "Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions" requires the European parties to the agreement to lift sanctions on the country's banking and oil sectors by February, threatening to suspend nuclear inspections by the watchdog, the Agency. Atomic Energy International and withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, according to Iran's state-run Press TV agency.
The bill also allows Iran to begin enriching uranium to 20%, well above the limits set in the nuclear deal, if economic sanctions are not lifted.
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Iran's parliament overwhelmingly backed the bill on Tuesday, according to Press TV, with 251 of 260 lawmakers voting in favor.
Iran's Guardian Council later ratified the bill on Wednesday, according to parliament spokesman ICANA.
The Guardian Council is a 12-member investigative body that reviews legislation adopted by parliament.
In a televised cabinet meeting before its ratification, Rouhani warned that if the bill were signed into law, it would be detrimental to the diplomatic process aimed at reviving the nuclear pact.
