(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - “In light of its focus on multilateral cooperation, disarmament, sustainable world peace, rights of nations and horizontal relations defying hegemonic structures, the Non-Aligned Movement is a major cross-regional group in the United Nations, and UN leaders have always participated in its summits,” Ali Reza Mi-Yousefi, head of the press office for the Iranian mission to the UN, said in an opinion piece published on the Washington Post on Wednesday.
“By bringing dozens of world leaders together, the summit promises to make significant contributions to the movement’s lofty objectives,” he added in the piece, which was written in response to an article published on August 15 on the US daily.
The former article downplayed the upcoming NAM summit in Tehran and called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon not to attend the conference. It said that Iran was seeking to use the summit to defend its nuclear energy program, which the article claimed included military aspects.
Mir-Yousefi rejected the allegations against Tehran’s nuclear energy program and said the Islamic Republic “has a peaceful, and legal, enrichment program that is covered by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safeguard and inspection mechanisms.”
He also said that “the Non-Aligned Movement has always supported Iran’s inalienable nuclear rights” due to the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear activities confirmed by various IAEA reports.
The 16th summit of the NAM member states will be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, August 26-31.
Director General for International Affairs at Iran’s Presidential Office and the spokesman for the organizing committee of the summit Mohammad Reza Forqani said on Saturday that the heads of 35 NAM member states will attend the Tehran summit and added that around 100 countries have so far expressed their readiness to participate in the meeting.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Wednesday that the UN Secretary General will also attend the summit.
NAM, an international organization with 120 member states, is considered as not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.
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