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| - 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, as tension mounts over Tehran's nuclear programme. The resolution was put forward by European states and urges Tehran to provide inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with access to two sites in Iran to help 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 favour while Russia and China voted against. There were seven abstentions: South Africa, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Mongolia, Azerbaijan and Niger. The resolution was proposed by France, Germany and Britain, and supported by the United States, despite an American wish for a stronger text. US Ambassador to the UN in Vienna Jackie Wolcott told reporters that the resolution marked "a new phase" in the dispute and that Iran should not assume it now has "a free pass until September" when the next IAEA board of governors' meeting will take place. "We'll be watching very carefully in the next days and weeks," she said. However Wolcott's Iranian counterpart Kazem Gharib Abadi insisted the resolution will not "encourage Iran to grant access to the Agency based on fabricated and unfounded allegations". "Iran categorically deplores this resolution and will take appropriate action in response," he added. Even though the sites in question are not thought to be directly relevant to Iran's current nuclear programme, the agency says it needs to know if activities going back almost two decades have been properly declared and all materials accounted for. Despite the row over the two sites, the IAEA says it still has the access it needs to inspect Iran's declared nuclear facilities, as per its mandate under the landmark deal between Iran and world powers reached in 2015. However the latest dispute comes as that deal further unravels, with Iran continuing to breach its limits on nuclear activity in retaliation for a US withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and renewed sanctions. Iran has hinted that a resolution such as the one passed Friday could cause "complication and difficulties" for the future of the 2015 accord, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Speaking to reporters after the resolution was passed, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said it would be "absolutely unacceptable" if an example were to be set that states can be selective in their implementation of agreements with the UN agency. "There are no exceptions. There is no Additional Protocol a la carte," Grossi said, referring to the agreement under which the IAEA requested access to the sites. "I intend to sit down with Iran very soon and to try to solve this as soon as possible," he said, adding that Gharib Abadi would be his first port of call. Iran says the IAEA's access requests are based on allegations from Iran's arch-enemy Israel. Additional information provided by the IAEA in the form of satellite images to back up its requests "contained no convincing underlying reason" to provide access, Tehran argues. The next diplomatic stage where tensions around Iran could play out may be the UN Security Council in New York, with a discussion on the JCPOA scheduled for June 30. In addition, the US says it has drafted a resolution to extend a UN arms embargo on Iran beyond October, when it was set to be progressively eased. On Friday the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK met in Berlin with the increasing tensions with Iran on the agenda and said that they too believed that lifting the embargo "would have major implications for regional security and stability". However, they added that they "wish to address the issue in close coordination with Russia and China as remaining participants to the JCPOA". jsk/pma
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