VIENNA, Feb 3: The UN nuclear watchdog deferred until Saturday a vote to report Iran to the UN Security Council over fears it is seeking atomic bombs, as the European Union lobbied developing nations to back the measure.

Diplomats said a clear majority on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation board favoured notifying the council on Iran, but EU diplomats needed more time to persuade as many developing states as possible to vote yes rather than abstain.

Iran warned it would curb IAEA checks on its atomic sites if sent to the council, a threat that seemed to influence efforts by developing states to soften the EU-sponsored resolution.

European diplomats said the threat would not deter their efforts to induce Tehran to change course.

The IAEA board held an emergency session on Thursday and had planned to reconvene on Friday, before the delay was announced. The board is now due to reconvene at 0900 GMT on Saturday.

“We are trying as best we can to secure as broad as possible consensus on the board for reporting Iran,” said a diplomat with one of the sponsoring powers, Britain, France and Germany.

“The resolution is being revised,” a senior diplomat close to the IAEA said earlier.

“Once this is on the agenda of the Security Council we foresee a graduated approach to bring additional pressure on the leadership in Tehran to achieve a negotiated settlement,” US Ambassador Gregory Schulte told reporters.

Asked about the haggling, a Western diplomat said: “The threat (to restrict inspections) is on everyone’s minds but we consider it blackmail and if we give in to that, there’s no end to it.”

He said the consultations focused on clarifying clauses in the resolution that developing states argued could be construed as ending IAEA oversight of Iran and opening the way to sanctions before the IAEA ends its probe of Iran’s atomic project.

IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei is due to deliver a sweeping report on Iran’s nuclear energy programme, which Washington suspects is a disguised bomb project, at a regular March 6 meeting of the agency’s board.—Reuters