Iran given deadline by U.N. agency

VIENNA, Austria – The United Nations’ atomic energy agency voted overwhelmingly Saturday to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for its nuclear program and Tehran responded by announcing that it would restart efforts to enrich uranium, a procedure that could provide fuel for nuclear weapons as well as power plants.

Hours later, President Bush warned Iran that the international community was committed to stopping Iran from building an atomic bomb.

“The path chosen by Iran’s new leaders – threats, concealment and breaking international agreements and IAEA seals – will not succeed and will not be tolerated by the international agency,” Bush said.

The rapid-fire developments opened a new chapter in international relations with Iran and the broader Middle East, raising the possibility that if the United Nations cannot convince Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions, the future could include a pre-emptive attack on Iran’s nuclear installations with unpredictable consequences or an arms race among neighboring countries frightened by a nuclear-armed Iran.

Under the resolution approved in Vienna by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran must meet a series of demands including the cessation of all uranium enrichment work and full disclosure of its past efforts to obtain nuclear technology. Otherwise it will face censure and possible sanctions by the Security Council.

The resolution was approved with the understanding that the matter will not come before the council until March, leaving Iran time to work out a deal. The one-month window satisfied a Russian demand to give Iran one last chance and was seconded by China.

In defiance, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad late Saturday ordered Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization to restart uranium enrichment, according to the official Iranian news agency.