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U.N. nuclear agency's board votes to censure Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the watchdog
The Hindu
The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board censured Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency, diplomats said
The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board on June 5 censured Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency, diplomats said, calling on Tehran to provide answers in a long-running investigation and reverse its decision to bar several experienced U.N. inspectors.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a late-night statement in response to the vote, saying it “strongly condemns” the action taken by the IAEA’s board of governors and called the move political.
The censure followed a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency a week ago that said Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, the latest in Tehran’s attempts to steadily exert pressure on the international community.
The vote by the 35-member board at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna sets the stage for a likely further escalation of tensions between the agency and Iran, which has reacted strongly to similar previous resolutions.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the presentation and approval of this resolution to be a political and non-constructive action and a continuation of the previous failed policies of some Western countries and an attempt to politically abuse international mechanisms against independent countries,” the statement from Iran's Foreign Ministry read.
Twenty members voted for the resolution, while Russia and China opposed it, 12 abstained and one did not vote, according to diplomats. They spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. The resolution was put forward by France, Germany and Britain.
Censure resolutions by the IAEA board are not legally binding but send a strong political and diplomatic message.