Israel National News reports: “In a significant diplomatic victory for the United States and Israel, Iran was forced to withdraw a resolution aimed at condemning recent strikes on its nuclear facilities, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

The resolution, co-sponsored by allies like Russia and China, was pulled at the last minute from a vote before the annual gathering of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Western diplomats, speaking anonymously to reveal internal discussions, confirmed that the withdrawal came after intense lobbying by the US, which reportedly threatened to reduce funding to the IAEA if the resolution passed and if the agency moved to curtail Israel’s rights within the organization. The U.S. has previously taken similar action; in 1981, aid to Israel under the IAEA’s technical assistance program was suspended after an Israeli strike on an Iraqi nuclear reactor.

Speaking at the IAEA’s General Conference, Iran’s UN Ambassador Reza Najafi announced that ‘guided by the spirit of goodwill and constructive engagement, and at the request of several member states,’ Tehran would defer action on the draft until next year…”