The NAM was poised to back Iran in its nuclear standoff on Tuesday, according to a draft statement which warned against any attack on peaceful nuclear facilities.
PUTRAJAYA: The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was poised to back Iran in its nuclear standoff on Tuesday, according to a draft statement which warned against any attack on peaceful nuclear facilities.
The communique from the 114-member grouping of mostly developing nations, due to be released at the end of their two-day talks Tuesday, did not include any criticism of Iran's nuclear activities.
Instead the draft obtained by AFP emphasised the right of all nations "without any discrimination" to nuclear technology for research and energy production.
"The ministers reaffirmed the inviolability of peaceful nuclear activities and that any attack or threat of attack against peaceful nuclear facilities -- operational or under construction -- poses a great danger to human beings and the environment, and constitutes a grave violation to international law," it said.
Some countries including Singapore are believed to have put pressure on NAM to water down an original statement which was seen as failing to reflect the UN nuclear watchdog's concerns over certain parts of the Iranian nuclear program.
A vote of support from NAM will be a rare boost for Iran which is locked in a diplomatic standoff with major powers over its nuclear ambitions.
The United States suspects Iran is working secretly toward building its own nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian drive for atomic power, and accuses Tehran of failing to cooperate with the IAEA.
Iran denies the charges, saying its nuclear work is confined strictly to generating energy and insisting that it has always cooperated with the IAEA.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that world powers are prepared to guarantee Iran's nuclear rights provided it eases international concerns over its intentions and cooperates fully with the UN atomic watchdog.
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Tuesday that the US was not in a position to launch strikes against his country because it is already overstretched on too many fronts.
"They can't. The US is not in a position to impose another crisis on taxpayers. There are a lot of difficulties in Iraq and Palestine. They are not in a position to create a new crisis in the region," he said.
"The US position is that they would not like other countries to have nuclear technology. This is a double standard policy. This is not acceptable," he added.
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