TEHRAN, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian lawmakers on Sunday approved a bill to remove four zeros from Iran's national currency, the rial, the official news agency IRNA reported.
The bill was passed at an open session of the parliament with 144 votes in favor, 108 against and three abstentions, the report said.
Iran's cabinet in August voted in favor of the zero removal plan, whose implementation still requires the approval of the country's Constitutional Council.
According to IRNA, removing four zeros from the rial is aimed at streamlining financial transactions. Iran's national currency would continue to be called the rial, with its subdivision called the gheran.
Following the removal, one rial would be equivalent to 10,000 at the current value and be subdivided into 100 gherans.
Iran's currency has suffered sharp depreciations since the United States withdrew in May 2018 from a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the world's major countries. A reinstatement of U.S. sanctions against Iran followed. ■
