Teheran to bolster status at intl summit

Iran on Monday was deploying heavy security around the Non-Aligned Movement summit, which Teheran wants to use to bolster its international status and to prove that Washington has failed to isolate it from the rest of the world.

The 110,000 police dispatched around the country and a five-day holiday in Teheran underline the importance that Iran has attached to the 16th NAM summit on Thursday and Friday. Heads or high-ranking officials from more than 100 countries are expected to attend.

The summit, which is being presented by Iranian state television as a "turning point" for the Islamic republic, also marks the start of Iran's three-year presidency of the NAM.

The NAM is a 120-member body set up in 1961 to be independent of Washington and Moscow during the Cold War.

Western diplomats have sought to downplay the importance of the summit and called it "an anachronism". But UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to attend the summit despite calls by the US and Israel to boycott it.

Ruan Zongze, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies, said that the influence of the NAM has diminished since the end of the Cold War, but that its members still share common interests, and the summit - with representatives from nearly two-thirds of the UN's members - is an important platform for multilateral diplomacy.

The large number of participants is a showcase of Teheran's global ties despite Western pressure, as well as a diplomatic coup as Iran gains support for its nuclear programs and for a role in solving the Syrian crisis, analysts said.

When opening the NAM preparatory meetings on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called for support to Iran's "legitimate rights" of developing nuclear energy regardless of the United Nation's demands of curtailing such activities there.

Iran is subject to severe economic sanctions from the United States and European Union, which suspect Iran is acquiring atomic weapons "break-out" capability. Iran insists its nuclear programs are only for power generation and medical purposes.

Syrian crisis

The Tehran Times newspaper cited Mansour Haghighatpour, a member of the Iranian Parliament's foreign policy committee, as saying that the ongoing Syrian crisis and Iran's potential role in resolving it have added significance to the NAM summit, during which the delegations will eagerly find a lasting solution for Syria.

Iran is expected to consult with countries on the sidelines of the upcoming summit on a "comprehensive package" to resolve the Syrian crisis, according to Iran's foreign ministry. Previously, Iran has been excluded from most international efforts aimed at ending the 18-month conflict.

Hua Liming, a former Chinese ambassador to Iran, said Iran is looking for a different mechanism from West-backed meetings, like those of the Friends of Syria, to support UN mediation.

"Teheran is likely to echo Cairo's proposal of establishing a contact group mainly involving Islamic countries to ease the Syrian tension," he said.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of the Iranian Parliament's foreign policy committee, announced on Sunday that Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem will attend the summit. Boroujerdi added that Iran stands against any foreign intervention in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said "he would welcome efforts Iran can make to solve Syria's problems", on condition that countries supporting Syria's rebels "exert pressure on them to stop the bloodshed and violence", Boroujerdi said.

AFP, AP and Reuters contributed to this story.

zhaoshengnan@chinadaily.com.cn