VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. atomic watchdog board on Wednesday demanded Iran fully cooperate with the agency, provide “complete information” about its stockpile of near weapons-grade nuclear material and grant its inspectors access to Iranian nuclear sites.The resolution stressed that providing information and access are “essential and urgent” in order to enable the International Atomic Energy Agency to verify that there is no “diversion of nuclear material.”Twenty-one countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board of governors voted for the resolution at the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote.Russia, China and Niger opposed it, while 10 countries abstained and one did not vote as it was in arrears.The resolution was put forward by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.
A senior Western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the sensitive matter, said that the resolution “aims to keep diplomatic pressure on Iran to come into compliance with its legal safeguards obligations.”
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The resolution comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East, with the U.S. having launched airstrikes early Wednesday against Iran, and Tehran firing back at countries in the region. The escalating attacks threatened to derail efforts to end the war, as U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled peace negotiations.
