Nuclear watchdog in turmoil as Iran prepares to defy UN

The United Nations nuclear watchdog is scrambling for solutions to the Iran crisis as Tehran prepares to break agency seals today and resume further work at one of its atomic facilities.

International Atomic Energy Agency board members are discussing how to persuade Iran to resume a voluntary suspension of uranium conversion and enrichment. They have the authority to report Iran to the UN Security Council, which could trigger punitive sanctions, but there was no talk of that at an emergency meeting of the agency’s 35-nation board.