NAM supports Iran at IAEA board meeting

The member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) have expressed support for Iran’s nuclear energy program. NAM representatives at the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, saying that they are concerned that the UN nuclear agency has failed to provide Iran with documents regarding the so-called “alleged studies.” They issued the statement on the sidelines of a week-long meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors at the United Nations headquarters in Vienna. Certain Western countries have stated that the documents support their claims that Iran has conducted studies on the production of nuclear weapons. Iran has questioned the authenticity of the documents and insists that its nuclear program is entirely civilian. The NAM countries also emphasized that access to nuclear energy meant for peaceful purposes is the fundamental right of all countries. NAM, comprised of some 120 member states and 17 observer countries, represents nearly two-thirds of the members of the UN. On Monday, Iran extended formal invitations to many senior officials of the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement for the 16th NAM summit, which is scheduled to be held from August 26 to 31 in Tehran. Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and thus has the right to enrich uranium to produce fuel. And the International Atomic Energy Agency has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.