Diplomats: Majority of IAEA board censures Iran’s nuclear defiance in a vote

Diplomats: Iran censured at IAEA meeting

VIENNA — The majority of the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency has voted to censure Iran for its nuclear defiance.

Diplomats inside the meeting said Friday that 25 of the 34 IAEA board nations present voted for a resolution backed by the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

The resolution criticizes Iran for defying a U.N. Security Council ban on uranium enrichment — the source of both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of warheads.

It also censures it for secretly building a uranium enrichment facility, and demands that it immediately suspend construction.

It notes that the IAEA cannot confirm that Tehran’s nuclear program is exclusively geared toward peaceful uses, and expresses “serious concern” that Iran may be hiding a military nuclear program.

Iran insists its nuclear activities are peaceful. But there are fears it could turn them to making nuclear arms.

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.