UN atomic watchdog passes resolution, Iran says nuclear program won’t be stopped

The UN’s nuclear watchdog agency passed a resolution expressing “deep and increasing concern” over Iran’s nuclear activities, Al Jazeera reported.

Following the International Atomic Energy Agency’s recent report detailing Iran’s alleged secret nuclear program, 32 of the 35-nation IAEA board of governors voted to pass Friday’s resolution that was proposed by five members of the UN Security Council and 13 other countries.

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The proposal by the atomic watchdog agency fell short of giving Iran a deadline or detailing repercussions if the country does not abandon its nuclear enrichment program.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA said the board’s resolution would only strengthen Tehran’s resolve. “The only immediate effect is further strengthening the determination of the Iranian nation to continue its nuclear activities for peaceful purposes without any compromise,” Soltanieh said.

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The resolution stressed the importance of establishing dialogue between the atomic agency and Iran, and called on Tehran to “comply fully and without delay with its obligations under relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council".

The White House welcomed the resolution and said it will increase its pressure on Tehran to stop its nuclear program, Reuters reported. 

"The whole world now knows that Iran not only sought to hide its uranium enrichment program from the world for more than two decades, but also engaged in covert research and development related to activities that can have only one application: building a nuclear warhead," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.