Western powers urge Iran to fulfil obligations to avoid further action

France, Britain, Germany and the United States on Wednesday called on Iran to comply with the U.N. atomic watchdog without further delay to avoid any future action after the watchdog's 35-nation board overwhelmingly passed a resolution criticising Tehran.

"We urge Iran to heed the call of the international community to fulfil its legal obligations, and cooperate with the IAEA to fully clarify and resolve issues without further delay," a joint statement said. The IAEA stands for the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"If Iran does this and the Director General is able to report that the unresolved safeguards issues are no longer outstanding, we would see no need for further Board consideration and action on these issues," it said.