South Africa's Abdul Minty, who presided the meeting, said that delegates had tried to thrash out a compromise but to no avail while US ambassador Gregory Schulte said "this is a sad manner to end this conference".

It was the first time such a resolution has been debated at the IAEA in some 15 years, when it was shot down in similar circumstances.

Syria condemned the motion's adjournment and accused Western nations of "double standards" in the differing ways it treated Israel and Iran, which is currently under the threat of UN sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme.