Members of a U.N. nuclear monitoring agency rejected an Arab-sponsored resolution on Friday calling on Israel to join a global anti-atomic weapons treaty.
The United States had urged countries to vote down the symbolically important although non-binding resolution. Washington warned the resolution could derail broader efforts to ban nuclear warheads in the Middle East.
Forty-six delegations voted in favor of the resolution, 51 against and 23 others abstained in the general assembly of the 151-member International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
It had approved a similar resolution expressing concern about "Israel's Nuclear Capabilities" in a close vote last year.
Israel warned the Vienna gathering earlier on Friday that the Arab-led effort to single out the Jewish state could deal a "fatal blow" to any cooperation on improving security in the Middle East.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
