VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. atomic watchdog’s board of governors urged Iran on Thursday to “extend full and prompt cooperation,” provide the agency’s inspectors with “precise information” about its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium and grant access to the country’s nuclear sites.

The development sets the stage for a likely further escalation of tensions between the U.N. nuclear agency and Iran, which has reacted strongly to similar moves by the watchdog. There was no immediate response from Tehran.

Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board voted for the resolution at the IAEA's headquarters in Vienna, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote.

Russia, China and Niger opposed it, while

See Full Page