As tension mounts over Tehran’s nuclear program, The board of governors at the UN’s nuclear watchdog passed a resolution critical of Iran on Friday, the first of its kind since 2012.
The resolution urges Tehran to provide inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with access to two sites in Iran in order to clarify whether undeclared nuclear activity took place there in the early 2000s.
It “calls on Iran to fully cooperate with the Agency and satisfy the Agency’s requests without any further delay, including by providing prompt access to the locations specified by the Agency.”
Iran has been blocking access to the sites for months, prompting a growing diplomatic row.
The resolution was carried by 25 votes in favor versus two against, with seven abstentions: South Africa, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Mongolia, Azerbaijan and Niger.
Russia and China, both of which had spoken out against the prospect of a resolution earlier this week, voted against.
The resolution was put forward by France, Germany and Britain, and supported by the United States — though the American ambassador to the UN in Vienna had said “the text could be strengthened.”
Earlier this week Iran warned that such a resolution would be “counterproductive” and that it would take “appropriate measures” in response.
Russia’s Ambassador to the UN in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov echoed that position after the resolution was passed on Friday.
“While stressing the need for Tehran and IAEA to settle this problem without delay, we believe that the resolution can be counterproductive,” he tweeted.
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