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Arab
delegates attend the Nonaligned Movement summit in Tehran,
Iran, Friday, Aug.
31, 2012. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
|
TEHRAN,
Iran (AP) — Iran's supreme leader said Friday that developing nations have a
greater right than the U.S. or NATO to intervene in Syria, signaling an effort
to lead a diplomatic push over efforts to resolve the crisis.
The
comments came a day after Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi embarrassed the
Islamic Republic by blasting its ally, Syria, during a speech at the summit of
the Nonaligned Movement, a grouping of some 120 nations.
Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei met Friday with Syria's prime minister, Wael Nader al-Halqi, and
Damascus' delegation to the conference.
"There
is a proxy war against the Syrian government, on behalf of some governments led
by the U.S. and some other powers with the objective of meeting the Zionist
regime's (Israeli) interests and inflicting a blow to resistance in the
region," Khamenei was quoted as saying on his website.
He didn't
mention Egypt. But Iran's former ambassador to Syria, Hossein Sheikholeslam,
openly criticized Morsi, saying the Islamist leader had demonstrated "lack
of political maturity" with his comments.
Morsi — in
the first visit to Iran by an Egyptian leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution
— on Thursday called the Syrian regime "oppressive" and said the
world must stand behind the Syrian rebels. That prompted a walkout by Syrian
delegates to the conference.
Sheikholeslam
said Morsi "made a big mistake" by condemning the Syrian government
in his speech, according to the semiofficial Mehr news agency
Iran sought
to use the weeklong summit to assert itself on the Syrian crisis and to counter
Western efforts to isolate Tehran over its nuclear program. The U.S. and its
allies say Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons, but Iran denies the claims
and says its program is for peaceful purposes.
The final
summit declaration issued Friday said all countries had the right to
development and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. It notably singled
out Iran.
The
statement made no mention of Syria's civil war, reflecting the huge differences
among the nonaligned member states and their failure to narrow the gaps.
Tehran has
faced an uphill challenge in garnering support for Syrian President Bashar
Assad. Some in the organization — particularly Sunni Muslim majority nations —
are more sympathetic with the rebels, if not outright backing them.
The U.N.
and Arab League have both led ultimately failed efforts to negotiate an end to
Syria's violence, in which thousands have been killed since early 2011. Turkey
this week called for the U.N. to authorize creation of a safe zone in Syria for
tens of thousands fleeing their homes. Britain and France have left open the
possibility of more aggressive action, including a military-enforced no-fly
zone to protect a safe area — though that still seems a remote possibility.
"The
Nonaligned Movement definitely has more political right than the U.S., NATO or
some European countries to intervene in the Syrian issue," Khamenei said.
He did not elaborate on what kind of role the group should have.
But the
Nonaligned Movement, an organization formed in the Cold War as an alternative
to both the Soviet and U.S. blocs, has little cohesiveness or international
weight now to push a Syria initiative. And its members are divided over Syria.
Syrian
Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Friday complained that some nonaligned
member states arm the rebels.
"Unfortunately,
some regional countries, that are also members of the nonaligned movement, are
providing weapons and military training as well as money to the armed groups to
destroy Syria's infrastructure," he told Iranian state TV Friday.
Al-Moallem
didn't name any country but last month he openly accused regional powerhouses
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey of trying to destroy Syria by supporting the
rebels.
Iran,
Syria's key remaining ally in the Middle East, has provided Assad's government
with military and political backing for years, and has kept up its strong
support for the regime since the uprising began in March 2011. Syrian activists
say at least 20,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
Tehran has
urged Damascus to listen to the Syrian people's "legitimate demands"
but has strongly opposed shipment of weapons to the rebels.
"The
main culprits in the Syrian issue are those who have paved the way for flooding
shipments of arms into Syria as well as financial support for the irresponsible
groups," state TV quoted Khamenei as saying Friday. "The Syrian
government should remove excuses from the opponents, continue political reforms
and expose behind-the-curtain facts for the Arab public opinion."
Iran has
already proposed a three-month cease-fire to pave the way for national
reconciliation talks between the Syrian government and the opponents.
Anti-regime
fighters have dismissed any role for Iran in such a plan. The rebels say it has
little hope of succeeding. Also, the United States has rejected Iranian
participation in international meetings on the Syrian crisis.
Iran also
has been seeking to win support from the bloc, accounting for nearly two-thirds
of U.N. member states, for its nuclear program. Tehran has used the summit to
try to show that U.S.-led efforts to isolate it have failed.
The final
summit declaration said all countries should be able to exercise their
"inalienable right to development, research, production and use of nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes without prejudice" and in accordance with the
relevant legal obligations.
"The
decision and choice of states, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the
field of peaceful use of nuclear technology and their policies in the field of
the fuel cycle has to be respected," it said.
It also
condemned unilateral economic sanctions, a clear reference to U.S.-led punitive
measures against Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.
The
declaration was approved a day after the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran has
effectively shut down a probe of Parchin military site in southeast Tehran
where Iran is suspected of carrying out explosive tests related to a nuclear
weapon trigger.
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