Iran's parliament voted on Tuesday to support implementing the nuclear deal it struck with world powers, sending the accord to the Guardian Council, consisting of senior clerics, to review before its final approval.

Many lawmakers strongly opposed the agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which President Hassan Rouhani's government reached with world powers on July 14. 

Tuesday's vote removes an obstacle to putting the agreement into practice.

"Members of parliament made a well-considered decision today, showing they have a good understanding of the country's situation," government spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said in a televised news conference after the vote.

The bill stipulates that inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, need approval from the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's top security body, before visiting military sites, leaving the possibility that disagreements could still arise.

The 12-member Guardian Council could send the bill, which allows Iran to back out of the nuclear pact if sanctions are imposed or not lifted, back to parliament to reconsider. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on key policies, has said it is up to the 290-seat parliament to approve or reject the deal. Last week he barred any further negotiations between Iran and the United States, putting the brakes on moderates hoping to end Iran's isolation after arriving at the nuclear deal.

In the session, carried live by state radio, 161 lawmakers on hand voted for the nuclear deal, 59 voted against it, 13 abstained, 17 did not vote at all, and 40 lawmakers did not attend the session.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday when the Guardian Council would issue its decision.

The bill gives oversight of the deal's implementation to the Supreme National Security Council, headed by President Hassan Rouhani. Khamenei has not publicly supported or disapproved of the deal, though he offered encouragement for the Islamic Republic's diplomats throughout the months of negotiations over it.

Iran's official IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif left the session after it got tense.

A preliminary parliamentary vote Sunday saw 139 lawmakers out of the 253 present supported the outline of the bill.

Also on Sunday, Iran tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile, the first such weapon able to reach its enemy Israel, defying a United Nations resolution that bars Iran from developing missiles that could deliver a nuclear warhead.

The West long has suspected Iran's nuclear program has a military dimension. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes, like power generation and medical treatments.

Wire services