NAM to convene soon with focus on Iran, Lebanon and Syria

The 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) kicked off in Tehran on August 25 and the heads of state and government of the 120-member organization are slated to meet on August 30 and 31 to discuss the most important international developments including the violence and crisis in Syria, nuclear disarmament, violation of human rights by the imperial powers, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear program.         

Member countries’ experts ended their meetings in Tehran and agreed on the final draft of the document that will be submitted to the foreign affairs ministers.              

The document stresses for the support of the Doha agreement in Lebanon and urges the Lebanese president to hold the National Dialogue sessions. The document also supports Lebanon’s right in reserving its water, oil, and gas’ sources, as well as gaining back its occupied territories according to the 1701 resolution.             

In this context, Iran said it has no plans on showing its nuclear sites to diplomats visiting Tehran for this week's Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, despite an earlier offer by a deputy foreign minister.                 

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh hinted on Monday that visiting NAM diplomats might be allowed to tour the Parchin military base, which the U.N. nuclear watchdog says may have been used for nuclear-related explosives trials.                    

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Bolivian President Evo Morales, Cuban President Raul Castro, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are among the high-ranking guests of the 16th NAM summit in Tehran.