Saudi Arabia and other US allies were among 11 countries named to the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board of governors on Thursday. US allies like Ireland and the Philippines were among the incoming 11 while US adversaries Cuba and Syria were among the outgoing states, part of a regular rotation of board members.
This could make things easier for the United States on the IAEA board, which rules on Iranian compliance with the nuclear non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), diplomats said. Cuba has been vocal in condemning Western states for criticising an IAEA deal with Iran for a new round of inspections. The United States is worried the deal could help Iran avoid new UN Security Council sanctions for its refusal to stop enriching uranium, a process that makes nuclear power reactor fuel but also atom bomb material.
The board, which determines policy for the IAEA, is renewed in part annually with a regular rotation of members, although key nuclear states such as the United States and Russia remain permanently on the board, which always has a majority of Western states.
The new board will meet for the first time next Monday at IAEA headquarters in Vienna. Its members are Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russian, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand and the United States.
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