Iran’s envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog says the director general’s silence over Tehran’s objections made to the report shows that he too recognizes its problems.

“The silence adopted by the Director-General and certain others about the objections we had made shows that [Yukiya] Amano has also reached the conclusion that the report is somewhat problematic,” Ali-Asghar Soltanieh said on Wednesday.

The Iranian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, who was talking to reporters after the IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, added that Amano’s February report raised already closed issues without any cause.

Soltanieh said the report reintroduced past issues while the only new development in Iran’s nuclear program since the beginning of Amano’s term was that the IAEA supervised steps taken to enrich uranium up to 20 percent.

The envoy, who had criticized the report in his address to the Board, said that over 100 countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has also raised similar concerns about the report in a statement issued in support of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

“Fortunately, the Egyptian ambassador who was speaking on behalf of more than 100 NAM states read out a very strongly-worded statement in support of Iran, directly criticizing the new Director-General’s report for the first time.

“The Egyptian ambassador once again stressed that every country has the right to conduct peaceful nuclear activities, urging the normalization of Iran’s safeguards agreement and an end to this issue,” he said.

Last month, the new IAEA director general issued his first report on Iran’s nuclear program, once again verifying the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

Amano’s report, however, did raise some concerns about “the possible existence… of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile.”

While the US used that segment of the report to renew its threats against Iran, Tehran pointed out that the report raised no “new cause for concern”, but simply addressed a series of past issues already examined by former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

The newly-issued NAM statement however condemned threats of a military strike against Iran.

The NAM statement said, “NAM confirms the basic and inalienable right of all states to the development, research, production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, without any discrimination and in conformity with their respective legal obligations.”

“Therefore, nothing should be interpreted in a way as inhibiting or restricting the right of states to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes,” it added.

“States’ choices and decisions including those of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear technology and its fuel cycle policies must be respected,” the 118-member movement said in its statement.

“NAM reaffirms the inviolability of peaceful nuclear activities and that any attack or threat of attack against peaceful nuclear activities, operational or under construction, poses a serious threat to human beings and the purposes of the Charter of the United Nation and of the regulations of the IAEA.”

As the West pushes for new sanctions against Iran, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) moves to issue a new statement, voicing its support for Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

Egypt’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) read the newly-issued NAM statement in a Wednesday meeting of nuclear watchdog’s board of governors.

“NAM confirms the basic and inalienable right of all states to the development, research, production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, without any discrimination and in conformity with their respective legal obligations,” the statement said.

“Therefore, nothing should be interpreted in a way as inhibiting or restricting the right of states to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes,” it added.

“States’ choices and decisions including those of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear technology and its fuel cycle policies must be respected,” the 118-member movement said in its statement.

“NAM reaffirms the inviolability of peaceful nuclear activities and that any attack or threat of attack against peaceful nuclear activities, operational or under construction, poses a serious threat to human beings and the purposes of the Charter of the United Nation and of the regulations of the IAEA,” it said.

The statement comes as the West is weighing new sanctions on Iran in an effort to force the country into meeting its demands over its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, China — a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council — has shrugged off Washington’s call for harsher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear activities, arguing that diplomatic efforts have not yet been exhausted.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that sanctions will not force it to give up the Iranian nation’s legitimate right to access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

For the fist time in its almost fifty-year-old history, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has criticized the director general of the UN nuclear watchdog for making ‘a subjective assessment’ of Iran’s enrichment plans.

Yukiya Amano, the new director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has recently issued a two-edged report, which leveled an unprecedented barrage of criticism and accusations against Iran over its alleged “non-cooperation with the agency.”

In a detailed statement obtained by Press TV on Sunday, NAM member-states demanded that Amano explain why he resorted to discriminatory language against Iran when the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in the country had been clearly verified.

“NAM notes with concern, the plausible implications of the departure of standard verification language in the summary of the report of the Director General, when stating that ‘Iran had not provided the necessary cooperation to permit the Agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities’, and would to seek clarification from the Agency for this,” said the statement, which is slated to be read in a meeting between NAM member states on Monday.

The 118-member organization explained that the UN report, which is Amano’s first since his July appointment as the head of the IAEA, has blatantly ignored Iran’s cooperative efforts to address concern and resolve ambiguities over its nuclear work.

“NAM takes note that the latest report of the Director General includes many references to events that transpired prior to the previous report contained in document GOV/2009/74 dated 16 November 2009, and contrary to the expectation of NAM, does not mention the responses provided by Iran to the Agency on several issues,” the statement added.

NAM member-states went on to suggest that Amano’s report was heavily influenced by “undue political pressure” by a number of countries defying the UN nuclear agency’s role as the sole competent authority to judge member-states on their safeguard obligations.

This is the first time the NAM movement focuses sharp criticism on the director of a UN agency over a published report.

In a veiled reference to Israel’s reported possession of an atomic arsenal, NAM urged the establishment of a nuclear-weapons-free-zone (NWFZ) in the Middle East as a positive step towards attaining the objective of global nuclear disarmament.

NAM also warned against an attack on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, in a reference to Israeli threats over the past few months.

The movement said any act of aggression against Iran’s enrichment sites, be it operational or under construction, would pose a serious danger to human beings and would therefore constitute a grave violation of international law.

In light of this, NAM called for a comprehensive and multilaterally-negotiated measure prohibiting attacks, or threats of attacks on enrichment facilities devoted to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday underlined Tehran’s firm resolve to boost cooperation with the West African state of Ghana.

“There is a serious will in Iran to expand ties with Ghana. We believe that we have every reason to have good ties with Ghana,” Mottaki said in a meeting with the Ghana’s visiting Deputy Foreign Minister Chris Kpodo here in Tehran today.

Mottaki said supporting the two countries’ private sectors and providing consulate facilities are among the possible ways to bolster the two countries’ trade and industrial ties and increase the two sides’ knowledge of each other.

“Iran’s 100-year-long experience in oil industries is a good ground for the two sides’ cooperation,” he reiterated.

During the meeting, Kpodo briefed Mottaki about the African country’s political and economic status.

He underlined that “bilateral and multilateral cooperation within the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a positive approach” for the two sides’ to further expand relations and cooperation.

“We hope that this movement (NAM) will be able to play a more effective role for the economic affairs of the member states,” Kpodo said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration has striven hard to maximize relations with the African continent. Following a three-nation tour of Africa on February 23, 2009 which took him to Djibouti, Kenya and Comoros, Ahmadinejad said that expanding Tehran’s relations with the African countries sets a priority for Iran.

The Non-Aligned Movement is set to present the IAEA Board of Governors a declaration in support of Iran’s nuclear program, a senior Iranian official says.

“The ambassadors of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) reached a consensus to prepare a declaration in favor of Iran to be read out in the IAEA Board of Governor’s March meeting,” Iran’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ali-Asghar Soltanieh, told IRNA following a NAM meeting in Vienna on Thursday.

“Iran’s logical and technical proposal, offered in the Vienna meeting in October, is still on the table,” he said.

In an October meeting in Geneva, Iran offered the major powers to send its domestically produced low enriched uranium abroad and receive refined fuel in return for Tehran research reactor that produces medical isotopes for cancer patients.

Iran deems its offer to be a test for the industrial states so that they might prove their goodwill and shift from defiance to interaction in the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Soltanieh maintained.

Numerous members of the Non-Aligned Movement have endorsed Iran’s nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has criticized India for voting in favor of a recent resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog against Tehran’s nuclear program.

“It was not expected that despite cordial relations (between Iran and India) and facts about Iran’s nuclear activities, New Delhi would adopt a stance contrary to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and give a yes vote to an anti-Iran resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors,” Mottaki said during a meeting with Indian National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan in Manama on Saturday.

Last month, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution against Iran over the construction of its Fordo uranium enrichment plant.

While resolutions passed by the IAEA Board generally focus on technical issues — as opposed to political matters — and are usually either passed or rejected unanimously, the November 27 resolution failed to win the support of ten member states.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says its nuclear program only seeks civilian applications of the technology.

India, a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), voted for the IAEA resolution against Iran while the NAM states on Friday expressed support for Iran’s nuclear energy program and rejected the double standards on the nuclear rights of NPT signatories.

They said that all NPT members should enjoy equal rights to nuclear technology.

Members of the Non-Aligned movement (NAM) have expressed support for Iran’s nuclear energy program, rejecting double standards on the issue.

During a meeting at the United Nations in New York on Friday, NAM members rejected double standards on the nuclear rights of signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

They said that all NPT members should enjoy equal rights to nuclear energy technology.

Addressing the meeting, Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Mehdi Khazaii said Tehran is prepared to continue talks with the P5+1 group on its package of proposals.

He stressed Iran will not abandon its inalienable right to peaceful nuclear technology.

Khazaii said Iran strongly adheres to its international commitments, but will not bow to political and economic threats.

Iran has allowed regular inspections of its nuclear installations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.

The IAEA has asserted that Tehran’s nuclear program is aimed at the civilian applications of the technology. Western countries, however, accuse it of seeking nuclear weaponry.

Ambassadors of the Non-Aligned Movement countries in the United Nations held a meeting in New York on Thursday over Iran’s nuclear program.

Participants of the meeting which was headed by the Egyptian Ambassador to UN, announced their support for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear work, stressing that all NPT member states should enjoy equal nuclear rights.

IRI’s permanent representative to UN Mohammad Khazaee said Tehran is ready to continue the Geneva talks based on Iran’s package of proposals, stressing that the Iranian nation would not relinquish its nuclear right.

He said Tehran is still committed to the international regulations and its obligations but it would not tolerate political and economic pressures and threats.

The Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations who also read out a statement on support for Iran’s nuclear rights, told IRIB reporter that NAM is against any double standard policy towards NPT members over their nuclear rights.

“It is regrettable that peaceful nuclear activities of Iran has concerned the Western countries but the real threat of the Zionist regime’s nuclear weapons are ignored,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Ambassador to UN said the imperialist countries should abandon their double standard behaviors and respect the other countries’ rights.

He stressed that Venezuela supports Iran’s enrichment right.

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has once more voiced its support for Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says.

“The ambassadors of the NAM member-states have unanimously signed a statement to voice their support for Iran’s peaceful nuclear program,” IRNA quoted Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh as saying on Wednesday.

“Egypt’s ambassador will read out the statement at the seasonal meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors that will open in Vienna on Thursday and will run for two days,” he added.

The NAM member-states have repeatedly supported Iran’s nuclear drive.

NAM, which has 118 member states, is an international organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.

The Non-aligned Movement (NAM) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have condemned a UN anti-Iran resolution on human rights violation.

In separate statements, NAM and OIC representatives expressed strong disapproval of a UN non-binding resolution which accuses Iran of human rights violation.

They called the resolution ‘a politically-motivated move, which undermined human rights activities,’ IRIB reported.

“The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) opposes misusing human rights as a tool against other countries and rejects the resolution introduced by Canada as baseless,” the Syrian ambassador to the UN said.

The Cuban envoy speaking on behalf of the Non-aligned Movement also condemned the resolution, calling it a ‘politically-motivated move’ used as a leverage to increase pressure on Iran.

Members of the United Nations human rights committee adopted a non-binding resolution Friday which criticizes Iran for alleged human rights violations.

The resolution adopted with only 74 votes in favor — with 48 against and 59 abstentions — expresses concern over what it calls “the serious, ongoing and recurring human rights violations” in Iran.

Among those, who voted ‘yes’ to the resolution was Saudi Arabia in a move analysts believe might be linked to recent clashes in Yemen between Shia fighters and the government.

The Yemeni military has launched a major offensive – dubbed ‘Operation Scorched Earth’ – against Houthi Shias in the northern sector of the country.

The government accuses the fighters led by Abdul Malik al-Houthi of seeking to restore the imamate system, which was overthrown in a 1962 coup.

The Houthis argue, however, that they are defending their rights against government marginalization- a policy which they believe has been adopted under pressure from Saudi-backed Wahhabi extremists.

Saudi Arabia has directly entered the military conflict by launching air raids in northern Yemen, alleging that Houthi fighters have killed two Saudi soldiers on the border.

Riyadh insists that it is targeting Houthi positions on ‘Saudi territory’, but the Shia resistance fighters say Yemeni villages are being targeted with deadly phosphorous bombs, which cause massive injuries among the Shia civilian population.

Saudi Arabia’s Badr (Arabsat) along with Egypt’s NileSat satellites in a coordinated move took Iran’s Arabic-language news channel al-Alam off the air.

Al Alam has gained prominence for its coverage of Israel’s 2008 aggression against the people of Gaza and the on-going war in Yemen.

The Iranian government says it fully supports a united and stable Yemen, rejecting claims that it has been interfering in the Arab country’s internal affairs. Tehran has also offered to help Yemen resolve the crisis that has so far killed, injured and displaced a large number of Yemeni Shias.

First ladies of Non-Aligned Movement states conferred the ways to annihilate poverty and hunger across the world in Rome. Also, Iran’s first lady Azam Farahi, delivered a speech at the meeting held on the sidelines of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) meeting on food security as below:

I thank the Almighty for having the opportunity to participate in this meeting. I am also grateful to the Director General of FAQ Mr. Jacques Diouf for proposing one day of fasting in solidarity with people and also Mrs. Susan Mobarak for her initiative to organize this meeting with an aim to involve effectively the first ladies of the NAM member states in the struggle against food poverty.

At present, the international community is burdened with one billion hungry and three billion people suffering from poverty across the globe. The imbalance in food production and consumption is mounting. The current irregularity in the food market has denied the needy sufficient access to appropriate nutrition. The continuation of this situation will undoubtedly result in the expansion of poverty and its dire consequences. Food poverty has imposed a double burden on the shoulders of women in the family. Now the question is that what are the root causes of this dilemma?

It is obvious that food stuff in the world is insufficient. Rather, uneven distribution systems, mercantilist attitudes, and exploitation of resources for the purpose of occupation and arms race are responsible for the imposition of poverty on a large section of the world population particularly women and creation of food insecurity.

Today, we are in need of a new consumption pattern; we should promote the pattern of needs-based consumption as well as the spirit of collaboration, benefaction and selflessness.

Promotion of the culture of labor and management of family by men and provision of the basic rights of women such as their food, clothing and housing and attention to clean and healthy food which from a religious viewpoint are among the measures which help reduce such problems. Here I wish to call on the first ladies of the NAM member states to initiate an appropriate food consumption pattern as a first step in this direction.

This will help promote the spirit of solidarity among people and institutionalize such a pattern in the society.

I would now like to refer to a number of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s experiments -with a religious learning- that have effectively increased the family’s food security.

1- Enrichment of food stuff consumed by girls and women by the Government,

2- Food support for expecting and breast feeding moms, so as to rear a healthy generation,

3- Promotion of interest free loans as a correct solution and the establishment of small family, neighborhood and group interest free loan funds to again promote and fortify the spirit of cooperation and social service, while preserving the dignity human beings.

4. Establishment of local capacity through the selection and training indigenous facilitators.

Now a number of proposals for inclusion in the final statement:

1- Establishment of an independent strong organs to fairly coordinate the food staff market;

2- Establishment of special funds by NAM states to help with the employment and food security of women heads of household;

3- Promotion of international relations and access to the relevant information in the field of agriculture and clear food;

4- Raising public awareness towards further attention and to use clean food and proper consumption;

5- Emphasis on rights of women in the family to the provision of their food, clothing and housing by their husbands;

6- Making every effort in protection of water and ground resources against contaminations.

In conclusion, I wish to stipulate that unfortunately our world is presently witnessing a clear example of food and medicine insecurity in the case of besieged Gazans; the innocent people who have incurred blockade against all international rules and regulations. We expect to see immediate end to this great oppression. I call distinguished Mrs. Mobarak, as representative of this meeting, to follow up this issue and get the voice of our gathering and oppressed women and children in Gaza across the globe.

Wishing for realization of the divine promise for development of justice in the world.

In what appears to be a step towards the normalization of relations between Tehran and Cairo, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki invites his Egyptian counterpart to the country.

“Mottaki invited Egyptian foreign minister (Ahmed Aboul Gheit) as head of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to hold consultations about regional development,” Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reported on Saturday.

“After the Cold War, the Non-Aligned Movement began to flourish. It is expected the NAM will play an increasing role in international issues,” Mottaki said in a meeting with the new head of the Egyptian interest section in Tehran, Aleddin Hassan-Youssef, on Saturday.

Mottaki termed consultations between Tehran and Cairo about the Middle East as ‘useful for regional states’ and added that Iran’s diplomacy is aimed at establishing confidence between the two sides.

He expressed hope that within the new global situation, Iran and Egypt would take steps to serve the interests of Muslim countries.

Diplomatic ties between Iran and Egypt were severed in 1980, two years after Cairo signaled of a peace treaty with Tel Aviv.

Despite their contrasting views, Tehran and Cairo took steps in 2007 to normalize their diplomatic relations.

Normalization efforts were put on hold in the wake of Israel’s three-week long attack on the Gaza Strip, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead.

The Tehran government strongly criticized Cairo’s complicity with Israel in the imposition of a crippling blockade on the costal territory that has caused a humanitarian crisis for Gazans.

Iran’s proposal calling for a ban on attacks against nuclear facilities across the world will be declared as a statement in the IAEA General Conference.

IAEA member states from the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) have agreed on declaring Iran’s proposal as a statement, a NAM diplomat told IRNA on Wednesday.

The NAM states, however, did not agree on passing the proposal as an IAEA resolution, the diplomat added.

“Iran’s proposed draft resolution was not ratified due to objection by some NAM members,” the diplomat stated.

The diplomat added that Chile and Singapore blocked a NAM consensus in favor of Iran’s measure, leaving its member nations to vote individually as they pleased.

The 53rd IAEA General Conference opened in Vienna on Monday, bringing together about 1,500 delegates from 150 member states.

More than 100 Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries have welcomed Iran’s involvement to vote on a proposal, which bans attacks on nuclear installations.

“More than 100 NAM members supported Iran’s proposal to be presented at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) general conference in September,” Fars news agency quoted Iran’s IAEA envoy Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh as saying on Monday.

Soltaniyeh also pointed out that the Egyptian envoy that holds the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) formally announced the support in a letter to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Mohamed ElBaradei on Monday.

On august 13, Tehran asked the United Nations to hold a conference of 150 countries to vote on a proposal to prohibit any military action targeting any nation’s nuclear sites.

The request was made through a letter, which was sent to ElBaradei.

According to Soltaniyeh, the IAEA general conference passed a resolution, proposed by Iran, entitled “Prohibition of All Armed Attacks against Nuclear Installations Devoted to Peaceful Purposes Whether Under Construction or in Operation in September 1990.

“It is necessary to protect such facilities as the number of nuclear installations has increased since then,” the Iranian envoy further explained. “It is undoubtedly a matter of concern for all countries.”

“The proposal will surely be supported by other countries and will pave the way for discussing and approving a resolution in this regard at the IAEA general conference to be held on September 14,” Soltaniyeh concluded.

More than 50 heads of state from the developing world will meet to tackle the fallout from the global economic meltdown, with calls for a new world order.

The Cuban President Raul Castro said in a speech at the opening session of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit that the financial crisis had hit the developing nations the hardest.

The Cuban President also called for a new monetary and economic world order that would take into consideration the needs of the developing countries.

Global power dynamics also need to be addressed, the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said, demanding a restructuring of the UN Security Council which he branded as a form of terrorism “monopolized by a few countries that are permanent members.”

Gaddafi said he wanted to correct the imbalance at the UN Security Council, demanding a permanent seat for the 53-member African Union, which he chairs.

This is while the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that members should play a bigger role on the world stage.

The Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed optimism that relations with India were headed on the right track.

India, along with the host Egypt, is one of the founding members of NAM, the largest grouping of countries outside of the United Nations, aimed at giving a voice to the developing world.

Founded in 1955, NAM’s 118 member states represent around 56 percent of the world population.