Iran faces "consequences" on nuclear issue: US

> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog's vote to rebuke Iran on Friday should send a clear message that Tehran will face consequences if it fails to engage with major powers on the nuclear issue, a senior U.S. official said. "We hope that the board of governors resolution reinforces the message that, you know, we're committed to putting together a package of consequences if we don't find a willing partner. We hope Iran takes note of that clear message," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. The International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors voted 25-3 to censure Iran in a motion that gained rare backing from Russia and China, which have in the past blocked attempts to isolate Iran, a trade partner for both. The U.S. envoy to the IAEA, Ambassador Glynn Davies, said in Vienna on Friday that international patience with Iran was running out and that "round after round" of fruitless talks could not continue. Speaking to reporters in Washington later, the U.S. official said the vote showed "unity of purpose" among major international powers on Iran, and repeated that time was growing short for Tehran to come clean about a nuclear program that Western governments fear is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge. The official declined to be drawn on what sort of consequences were being contemplated, although British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said harsher sanctions could be on the way if Iran ignored the IAEA vote. U.S. President Barack Obama and European leaders have given Iran until the end of the year to begin talks on the nuclear stalemate. The U.S. official said Russia and China, along with other negotiators United States, Britain, France, and Germany, were agreed on what should happen next if Tehran fails to respond. "It is significant, as I said before, that both of those parties strongly supported this step in the board of governors," the official said, referring to Russia and China. "They are fully committed to a two-track strategy ... we intend to take this very steadily and step by step." Another U.S. official said China -- seen as the most reluctant of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to sanction Iran -- had played a useful role in the IAEA discussion and even suggested language that was included in the final resolution. "They had a certain degree of authorship," the official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said, calling final passage of the resolution "very much a collective effort." (Additional reporting by David Alexander in Washington and Mark Heinrich in Vienna; editing by Mohammad Zargham)