UN backs deal, but hard-liners object

The UN Security Council backed Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers on Monday, but the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards attacked the resolution, underlining powerful opposition to the deal.

United States President Barack Obama, who also faces domestic political opposition to the agreement, hailed the United Nations endorsement.

He said it showed that last week's accord commanded broad international support as the best way of ensuring Iran never gets nuclear weapons.

The European Union also approved the deal, which curbs Teheran's nuclear program in return for easing economic sanctions, while Germany moved rapidly to revive its once-close trading relationship with Iran.

European Union foreign ministers, inspired by the diplomacy that led to the nuclear pact, agreed to try to involve more countries in restarting peace talks between Israel and the State of Palestine.

At the UN, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that was negotiated as part of the agreement reached in Vienna between Iran and the six powers.

In return for lifting the US, EU and UN sanctions that have crippled its economy, Iran must accept long-term limits on the nuclear program that the West suspected was aimed at creating an atomic bomb, but which Teheran says is peaceful.

Regional opposition

The agreement also faces opposition in some Middle East states, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Israel warned US Defense Secretary Ash Carter during his visit on Monday that it feared the pact would translate into more money for Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia group, and others hostile to Israel.

Even before the Security Council passed the resolution in New York, top Iran Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammed Ali Jafari denounced it for interfering with the country's military operations and crossing "red lines" set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"We will never accept it," he said.

Iranian hard-liners are worried that inspectors may gain some access to sensitive military sites under the resolution.

The country's senior nuclear negotiator, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, dismissed critics' concerns and called the resolution an "unprecedented achievement in Iran's history".