"The E3 decided with the full support of the United States that the best way to support the IAEA's process was to refrain from putting forward the draft resolution at the meeting of the board of governors," Price said during a press briefing. "We are pleased with the outcome of IAEA board of governor's meeting with respect to Iran."
Earlier in the week, Germany, France and the United Kingdom announced plans to submit a US-backed draft resolution to the IAEA Board of Governors on Friday that would have aimed to rebuke Iran for restricting the organization's inspection activities. However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry urged the countries on Thursday against going forward with this step as it would disrupt the cooperation under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Thursday that Iran was willing to sit down with the agency's technical experts in a month to discuss current issues, including recent discovery of uranium particles at suspected nuclear sites.
Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mihail Ulyanov, said the decision to scrap the vote on the resolution was commendable and allows for a diplomatic approach, adding that adopting the resolution could have led to "uncontrolled escalation."
On February 23, Iran started limiting the scope of the IAEA's inspections as a temporary measure until the sanctions against Iran are lifted. The UN nuclear watchdog reached a temporary bilateral understanding with Iran in February, which allows international inspectors a limited access to nuclear sites for three additional months after Iran's threat to shut them out.
