UN nuclear agency’s board votes to censure Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the watchdog

By STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN
Associated Press

VIENNA (AP) — Diplomats say the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board has censured Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency. It called on Tehran on Wednesday to provide answers in a long-running investigation and reverse its decision to bar several experienced U.N. inspectors. The vote by the 35-member board at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 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. Censure resolutions by the IAEA board aren’t legally binding but send a strong political and diplomatic message. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in response that it strongly condemned the board’s action and called its move political.