UN chief plans to attend summit in Iran, drawing both support and fire
(Read article summary)UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Tehran next week to attend the summit of the Nonaligned Movement, a decision that is drawing criticism from the US and Israel.
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United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will attend next week’s summit of the Nonaligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran, drawing criticism from the United States and Israel and dealing a setback to their effort to isolate Iran.
It is not unusual for a UN secretary-general to attend a meeting of the NAM, which is made up of 120 largely developing nations. But this year's host, Iran, has a controversial nuclear program and is accused of aiding the Assad regime in Syria and threatening the existence of Israel, prompting many Western leaders, politicians, and NGOs to express disapproval of Mr. Ban's decision to attend.
"The fact that the meeting is happening in a country that's in violation of so many of its international obligations and posing a threat to neighbors ... sends a very strange signal with regard to support for the international order, rule of law, etc.," US State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said last week.
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