While IAEA approval was largely expected, “the NSG is going to be much tougher,” Kimball said.
Iran, which is under international pressure over its nuclear program, was also among those with reservations about the plan. It is not a member of the board of governors but requested time to speak, alongside several other non-board members.
It expressed concern that the US was trying to set a precedent and pave the way for Israel — which also has not signed nonproliferation accords — to continue what Iran called “its clandestine weapons activities,” according an Iranian statement before the approval.
Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran’s top representative to the UN agency, said in his speech that Tehran was worried about what he called a US double standard, and said it would continue to undermine the credibility, integrity and universality of the NPT.
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