Push to Censure Iran Hits a Snag

VIENNA —  Washington and its allies ran into obstacles Thursday in trying to persuade the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency to condemn Iran’s nuclear activities and link its atomic program to its military.

A bloc of countries known as the nonaligned movement objected to tough language in the U.S.-backed resolution and threatened to withhold its support for a final document, diplomats said.

The differences arose in closed-door meetings throughout the day involving representatives of the nonaligned countries and Canada and Australia, which helped to draft the resolution on behalf of the United States.

Earlier in the week, the United States reached a tentative agreement with Britain, France and Germany on language in a draft resolution.

The resolution was expected to be presented today to the governing board of the IAEA, which is the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

Washington accuses Iran of concealing a nuclear weapons program, but Tehran says its nuclear efforts are aimed at generating electricity.

IAEA inspectors recently discovered that Iran concealed sophisticated activities that could have led to the capability to develop a weapon.

They also found traces of weapons-grade uranium at two sites in Iran.

The U.S.-backed draft stopped short of referring Iran to the U.N. Security Council for concealing the activities, but it included harsh language saying the IAEA board deplored Iran’s omissions and linking Tehran’s program to its military.

With 13 of the 35 seats on the IAEA board, the nonaligned countries represent the largest bloc. Its members, which include Malaysia, India and South Africa, vowed Thursday night to withhold support unless the bloc’s objections were resolved.

Most changes sought by the group were cosmetic, but others were substantive and might face opposition from the U.S. and Canada, which have taken the toughest line against Iran.

The nonaligned countries want to remove language tying Iran’s nuclear program to its military and change the word “deplores” to “strongly regrets” in describing the IAEA’s response to Tehran’s failure to disclose the full scope of its nuclear activities, according to a copy of the proposed changes provided to the Los Angeles Times.

“The hard-liners weren’t budging,” a nonaligned nation’s diplomat said in describing the response of the U.S. and its allies.

The U.S. probably can muster enough support to pass the resolution, which requires a majority vote, but diplomats here said the impact would be weakened severely if the nonaligned countries withheld their support.

A vote could be taken today, but some diplomats said the differences were likely to push a decision into the weekend.