Source: veteransnewsnow.com


TEHRAN — The 120-nation Nonaligned Movement handed its host Iran a diplomatic victory on Friday, unanimously decreeing support for the disputed Iranian nuclear energy program and criticizing the American-led attempt to isolate and punish Iran with unilateral economic sanctions.

The Tehran Declaration document not only emphasizes Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy but acknowledges the right to ownership of a full nuclear fuel cycle, which means uranium enrichment — a matter of deep dispute.

In an attempt to overshadow the NAM summit,  the Zionists have the U.S. media in a frenzy on the doubling of the number of centrifuges in Fordow as stated in Thursdays IAEA report. Ironically, in Israel, the Truth is told in the Jerusalem Post but not disseminated in U.S.: that the centrifuges added at Fordow are outdated 1970′s models and have not even been turned on.

Iran, which has repeatedly asserted that its nuclear program is peaceful, contends it is in compliance with its obligations as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has countered that Israel, which is not a signatory, has an unacknowledged nuclear weapons arsenal. Israel, which regards Iran as its major enemy, has threatened to attack Iranian enrichment sites.

Nonetheless for Iran, the final result of the Nonaligned Movement’s meeting, the biggest international gathering in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, amounted to the strongest expression of support for Iran’s nuclear energy rights in its showdown with the West. The unanimous backing of the final document undercut the American argument that Iran was an isolated outlier nation.

The conspicuous omission of Syria from the document, called the Tehran Declaration, followed a dramatic day of maneuvering by Iran’s delegation to secure some kind of support for Syria’s government, diplomats said, as the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his aides were criticizing foreign backing of the Syrian insurgency.

With regard to Egypt’s recent reconciliation with Iran, Robert Naiman, Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy was asked by prominent Iranian journalist Kourosh Ziabari in an interview published in the Tehran Times:

Robert Naiman
Q: Can we conclude that Egypt wants close and friendly ties with Iran after some 33 years of frozen ties?

A: I think we can conclude that Egypt wants to have a different relationship with Iran than they have had, and I think that Iran wants that as well. I don’t know if I would describe it as “close and friendly.” I think it is going to evolve slowly, and we’re not going to see “close and friendly” right away. But I think the immediate change that we’ll see is that there will be more regular contact and consultation, and that we won’t see Egypt making inflammatory anti-Iran statements.
The NAM Meeting Final Declaration also calls for global nuclear disarmament and voices support for the rights of the Palestinian nation.  The text also called for reform of the United Nations system, particularly of the Security Council, the peaceful settlement of disputes and global peace defense and dialogue among civilizations, religions, and cultural diversity.

In his closing speech as new NAM chairman, Iran’s president says “all NAM member states approved the need for a new world management upon the basis of freedom, justice and friendship.”

At a press conference on the final day of the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the Iranian capital Tehran, in a reference to the threats by Israel, the US and its Western allies against Tehran, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, “I have condemned the threats by any member state to destroy or delegitimize another.”

“I have reminded the leaders … throughout the world to lower the volume and stop the provocation that can lead the area down a slippery slope of conflict,” he added.

“It is time for more reason and responsibility. I urge you all to resolve differences through peaceful means,” the UN chief pointed out.

Iran may have hijacked this week’s conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, but America shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it, argues Rob Rakove, (lecturer in International Relations at Stanford University) in FP.