UN Demands Iran Freeze Secret Nuke Site

The UN’s nuclear watchdog group blasted Iran for operating a secret nuclear site in a new resolution today, its first against Tehran in nearly four years. The International Atomic Energy Agency demanded Iran put an immediate freeze on the uranium enrichment it’s performing at its clandestine Qom site. The resolution passed 25-3, including unusual yea votes from Russia and China.

Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA told the BBC the resolution was “hasty and undue,” but the US ambassador says patience with Iran is “running out.” Yesterday, outgoing IAEA chief Mohammed El Baradei said he was frustrated that Iran had backed out of a deal to process its nuclear fuel abroad. “We have effectively reached a dead end,” he said. (More Iran stories.)