TEHRAN — Iran's parliament has voted to ban access to military sites and scientists as part of a future deal with world powers over its contested nuclear program. Of 213 lawmakers attending an open session of the parliament Sunday, 199 voted in favor of the bill that requires the complete lifting of all sanctions against Iran as part of any final nuclear accord. The bill, if approved into law, could complicate the ongoing talks in Vienna between Iran and the six-nation group — the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany — as they face a self-imposed June 30 deadline. The talks are focused on reaching a final accord that curbs Iran's nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran rejected Saturday US claims that it was a sponsor of global terror attacks, saying instead it is a victim of terrorism. On Friday, the US State Department said Iran "continued to sponsor global terror" attacks last year and supplied arms to the Syrian regime even though it was engaged in talks to rein in its nuclear program. But Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said those accusations were "worthless." "For three decades, Iran has been the great victim of terrorism and considers international cooperation to combat terrorism a priority," she said, without elaborating. US counterterrorism envoy Tina Kaidanow, unveiling the 2014 Country Reports on Terrorism, said "Iran continued to sponsor terrorist groups around the world," adding that Washington remained very concerned by the activities of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard "and its proxies." And she stressed that "we have sanctions in place against Iran specifically related to the terrorism issue. That's not going to change." — Agencies
