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

Almost unanimously, the agency’s 35-nation board passed a resolution expressing “increasing concern” about Iran’s nuclear program, after a U.N. report last week said the Islamic state appeared to have worked on designing an atom bomb.

VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran will not attend a rare meeting for Middle East countries next week to discuss efforts to free the world of nuclear weapons, an Iranian official said, signaling worsening ties between the U.N. atomic agency and Iran.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the announcement after the 35-nation governing board of the IAEA adopted a resolution on Friday rebuking Tehran over its nuclear program.

VIENNA (Reuters) – Major powers closed ranks on Thursday to increase pressure on Iran to address fears about its atomic ambitions, and the U.N. nuclear chief said it was his duty to “alert the world” about suspected Iranian efforts to develop atom bombs.

The six powers involved in diplomacy on Iran — the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany — overcame divisions exposed by a hard-hitting U.N. nuclear report on Iran last week and presented a united front toward Tehran.

VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog wants to send a high-level mission to Iran to address mounting concerns it may be seeking to design atom bombs, its head said on Thursday, and Tehran was expected to face censure at a meeting of agency member states.

An International Atomic Energy Agency report last week assessing that Iran has been conducting research and experiments geared to developing a nuclear weapons capability has stoked tensions in the Middle East and heightened Western pressure for harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

VIENNA (Reuters) – The United Nations nuclear watchdog wants to send a high-level mission to Iran to address mounting concerns the country may be seeking to design atomic bombs, its head said on Thursday.

An International Atomic Energy Agency report last week assessing that Iran has been conducting research and experiments geared to developing a nuclear weapons capability has stoked tensions in the Middle East and heightened Western pressure for harsher punitive sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

VIENNA, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Austrian steelmaker
Voestalpine AG warned it expected full-year earnings
to weaken as the debt crisis and troubles in the financial
sector hit demand.

Consumers spooked by the weak economy are buying fewer
big-ticket items such as fridges and washing machines and the
construction industry also remains very weak, having failed to
recover from the crisis in 2008, the company said.

VIENNA (Reuters) – World powers are narrowing their differences and getting closer to an agreement on how to respond to a U.N. watchdog report that aired intelligence suggesting Iran has been working on designing a nuclear weapon, Western diplomats said Wednesday.

They said officials from the six big powers — the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain — were in intense talks on drafting a resolution on Iran for a November 17-18 board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

VIENNA (Reuters) – World powers are making progress in narrowing their differences on how to respond to a U.N. watchdog report that aired intelligence suggesting Iran has worked on designing a nuclear weapon, Western diplomats said on Wednesday.

They said officials from the six big powers — the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain — were in intense negotiations on drafting a resolution on Iran for a November 17-18 board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

VIENNA (Reuters) – Western states will try this week to overcome divisions with Russia over a U.N. nuclear report on Iran, hoping to show big power unity that will pile pressure on Tehran to address growing fears that it wants atomic bombs.

But Western diplomats fear they may have to choose between a tough stance that alienates Russia and China and a gentler, more inclusive approach which they say does not reflect the seriousness of a U.N. atomic watchdog report issued last week.

VIENNA (Reuters) – Very low levels of radioactive iodine-131 have been detected in Europe but the particles are not believed to pose a public health risk, the U.N. nuclear agency said Friday, saying it was seeking to find the source.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based U.N. watchdog, said it did not believe the radioactive particles were from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant after its emergency in March.