VIENNA, Austria – The U.N. atomic watchdog agency on Saturday put Iran just one step away from referral to the Security Council unless Tehran eases suspicions about its nuclear activities in coming months – a move the United States has been pushing for years.
The chief U.S. delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Gregory Schulte, hailed the decision, describing it as a wake-up call for Tehran “to come clean” or face the consequences.
But his Iranian counterpart, Javad Vaeidi, blasted the approval of the resolution and warned of retaliation. Tehran says its nuclear program is for generating electricity.
The decision by the 35-nation board represented a victory for Washington, which claims Iran has nuclear weapons ambitions. For more than two years, it has failed to enlist board support to haul Iran before the council for violating its commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
“The international community is … not satisfied with the level of confidence-building measures Iran has so far taken,” IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said.
Saturday’s decision was far from unanimous. Only 22 of the 35 board nations voted for the U.S.-backed European Union motion.
Twelve nations abstained, including Russia and China, which are veto-wielding members of the Security Council, diplomats said. The others were developing nations.
Those supporting the resolution included Australia, Canada, European countries, Japan and the United States. They were joined by Ecuador, India, Peru and Singapore, reflecting some support among the developing nations.
Javier Solana, the chief EU foreign policy official, welcomed the board’s “broad support” and said it left the door open to negotiations with Tehran.
Venezuela cast the only vote against the resolution. On Friday, Foreign Integration Minister Gustavo Marquez told the state-run Bolivarian News Agency that powerful countries with nuclear energy programs are unfairly keeping others from developing their own.
The resolution called on the board to consider reporting Iran at a future meeting. As grounds, it mentioned noncompliance with the nuclear arms control treaty and suspicions that Iran’s nuclear activities could threaten international peace and security.
Diplomats from countries backing the resolution said it set Iran up for referral as early as November, when the board next meets in regular session, unless it dispels international concerns.
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