IAEA rejects Arab bid to curb Israel's nuclear capabilities

(Reuters) Member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency rejected on Thursday an Arab resolution criticizing Israel over its assumed atomic arsenal, in a diplomatic victory for Western states that opposed the initiative.

Arab states had submitted the non-binding resolution – which called on Israel to join a global anti-nuclear weapons pact – to the annual meeting of the 162-nation UN nuclear agency, in part to signal their frustration at the lack of progress to move towards a Middle East free of nuclear weapons.

The United States and its allies argued that the resolution, if adopted, would be counterproductive. Fifty-eight countries voted against the text and 45 states for. Other countries either abstained or were absent.

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