Tehran NAM Summit: The Spring of Iranian Diplomacy

Thursday, July 05, 2012

Kourosh Ziabari

While the United States, Israel and their European allies are pulling out all the stops to isolate Iran over its nuclear program, the upcoming meeting of the heads of state of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran seems to be throwing a spanner in their works.

The Non-Aligned Movement, the rotating presidency of which will be conferred to Iran on August 26, is a major international organization comprising 120 member states that represent the political, cultural, economic and social interests of the developing world.

The movement, which comprises two thirds of the UN member states, was established in 1961 in Belgrade and despite the fact that the majority of its members are developing nations, many of them play a defining and determining role in strategic regions in the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America.

Over past weeks, the Iranian president has been sending envoys to different NAM member countries to invite their heads of state and government officials to attend the summit in Tehran. The last NAM summit was held in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh in July, 2009.

Tehran will host representatives from 120 countries at the event from August 26 to 31. Iranian officials expect that member states will attend the summit in high levels. It goes without saying that the presence of so many officials from different world countries in Tehran may pique the Western countries that wish to isolate Iran.

NAM aims to shape a new global order based on respecting the rights of the developing nations, which are more often than not treated indecorously by the hegemonic powers. It aims to extricate its members from the domination of the superpowers that try to exploit their precious natural resources.

The Non-Aligned Movement is said to be the largest international organization after the United Nations and it has the capability of effectively influencing global events. Its members can assist one other in diplomatic lobbying, selecting the non-permanent members of the Security Council and making decisions in the UN Human Rights Council. They can also contribute to the process of developing important entities such as the African Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Although non-association and non-alliance with the Western and Eastern superpowers is a characteristic feature of the NAM, emerging superpowers such as China, Brazil and Mexico serve as observing members. Moreover, countries such as India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, which have strong ties with the United States and are members of the G20 group, are among the NAM member states.

Iran’s presidency over such a prominent international organization comes after the EU has just put into effect an oil embargo against Iran, banning European refineries from importing oil from Iran, the world’s fourth largest producer. At the same time, the U.S. has imposed a fresh round of sanctions against Iran’s banking sector, penalizing the foreign banks which conduct financial transactions with their Iranian counterparts.

The United States, Israel and Europe are pressing Iran on multiple fronts to isolate the country and undermine its regional clout; they propagate falsehoods and launch cyber attacks against the computers that run Iran’s nuclear facilities. They pass anti-Iranian resolutions in the UN Security Council and murder our nuclear scientists. They impose hard-hitting financial sanctions and they beat their war drums.

However, Iran has persistently tolerated all these hardships and is now foiling the mischievous plots one after another.

The upcoming NAM summit in Tehran is an invaluable opportunity for Iran to show its diplomatic prowess and demonstrate that it’s impossible for bullying powers and their stooges to isolate it. The event will unquestionably testify that Iran has not become the lonely and friendless country that the United States and its lackeys paint it.

More By Kourosh Ziabari:

*The Menacing Plots of MKO for Iran: http://www.iranreview.org/content/Documents/The_Menacing_Plots_of_MKO_for_Iran.htm

*Bibi Angry at Iran-P5+1 Deal: http://www.iranreview.org/content/Documents/Bibi_Angry_at_Iran_P5_1_Deal.htm

*Saudi Arabia: Dancing to Israel's Tune: http://www.iranreview.org/content/Documents/Saudi_Arabia_Dancing_to_Israel_s_Tune.htm