Vienna, Sept. 26 (Reuters): Iran condemned a UN nuclear watchdog resolution requiring that Tehran be reported to the Security Council, but stopped short today of announcing the retaliatory measures expected by many diplomats.

Speaking to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) annual gathering of its 139 members, Iranian vice-president Gholamreza Aghazadeh did not say Iran would resume uranium enrichment, which can produce fuel for weapons.

“This resolution is based on an invalid legal precept, an unjustified technical ground and a misguided political forecast,” Aghazadeh said.

Iran said it would issue an official reaction to the resolution in the next few days.

The IAEA board of governors on Saturday passed the resolution based on Iran’s failure to persuade the global community that its nuclear work was entirely peaceful.

Washington accuses Tehran of developing nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear programme which Tehran insists is solely aimed at generating electricity. Diplomats in Vienna had expected a more vehement reaction by Aghazadeh, who is also the head of Iran’s atomic energy organisation, to the resolution.

On Friday, the Iranian delegation showed some IAEA board members two letters saying Iran would begin enriching uranium, a process of making fuel for nuclear power plants or weapons, and end short-notice inspections. “After the vote, I had expected Iran to immediately announce that it would retaliate in some way, perhaps by enriching uranium and ending additional protocol inspections. But this didn't happen,” an EU diplomat said.