U.N. nuclear watchdog board rebukes defiant Iran

By Fredrik Dahl and Sylvia Westall

VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog board censured Iran on Friday over mounting suspicions it is trying to develop atomic bombs, but Tehran said the move would only strengthen its determination to press on with sensitive work.

"Iran will not bow to pressure," said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In a sign of worsening ties with the U.N. body, he said Iran would boycott rare Middle East nuclear talks hosted by the IAEA next week.

The IAEA's 35-nation board passed a resolution with a clear majority expressing "increasing concern" about Iran's nuclear programme, keeping up pressure on Tehran after a U.N. report said it appeared to have worked on designing an atom bomb.

In Washington, the White House said the resolution exposed the "hollowness of Iran's claims" that its nuclear programme is purely peaceful, and it said the United States would continue to pressure Tehran, including through sanctions.

But the text - adopted by 32 votes for and two against - omitted any concrete punitive steps, reflecting Russian and Chinese opposition to cornering Iran.

Moscow's and Beijing's reluctance to further punish Iran, a major oil producer, makes clear Western states will have to act on their own if they want to tighten sanctions on the country.

That in turn is likely to disappoint Israel, which has not ruled out military action against its arch-foe if diplomatic means fail to stop a nuclear programme which the Jewish state sees as an existential threat.