Iran issued a warning

VIENNA, Austria — The U.N. atomic agency Wednesday censured Iran for 18 years of secrecy, issuing a resolution that its director said gives him more muscle in policing the country for evidence of nuclear weapons ambitions.

Warning Tehran to stay in line, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said the measure sends an "ominous message that failures in the future will not be tolerated."

"This is a good day for peace … and nonproliferation," ElBaradei told reporters, saying the resolution "strengthens my hand in ensuring that Iran’s program is for peaceful purposes."

A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Washington was "pretty happy" with the compromise text. The source added that the United States is skeptical that Iran has stopped its covert nuclear weapons program.

The resolution, adopted by consensus by the 35-nation International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors, did not confront Iran with a direct threat of U.N. sanctions, as the United States had initially sought.

The final resolution was a compromise, with a more implicit threat. It states that if "further serious Iranian failures" arise, the board would meet to consider actions allowed by its statute — which include U.N. Security Council action. If the International Atomic Energy Agency turned to the council, the body would likely move to impose sanctions on Iran.

While welcoming Iran’s "offer of active cooperation and openness" — including suspending uranium enrichment and agreeing to thorough inspections on demand — the measure calls for a "particularly robust verification system" to test Tehran’s honesty.

Under intense international pressure, Tehran suspended enrichment recently and agreed to allow the implementation of stringent spot checks of its nuclear activities to demonstrate openness and cooperation with the agency.

The United States, which alleges that Iran plans to develop nuclear arms, insisted last week it would hold out for at least a threat of Security Council action over 18 years of clandestine activities by Iran, including uranium enrichment and plutonium processing.

But France, Germany and Britain opposed a direct Security Council threat, fearing Iran could backtrack on its cooperation if it were pressured too strongly.

ElBaradei said a new report on Iran will be ready in February, adding that the International Atomic Energy Agency still has "a lot of work to do before we can conclude that Iran’s program is exclusively for peaceful purposes."

U.S. envoy Kenneth Brill asserted that the resolution already found Iran in noncompliance — and therefore pulled the trigger needed for Security Council involvement.