Jack Straw

European governments are welcoming the International Atomic Energy Agency's decision to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council over concern about its nuclear activities.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Saturday's vote by the IAEA gives Tehran a few weeks to defuse the crisis by suspending its alleged nuclear weapons program. He said, otherwise, sanctions by the U.N. Security Council are "almost inevitable."

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and German officials also praised the vote.

Russia urged Tehran to resume a moratorium on uranium enrichment.

Iran's state-run news agency IRNA quoted a top Iranian nuclear official, Javad Vaeidi as saying Tehran considers the IAEA's vote a message only from Western governments, not the entire international community.