NAM countries and Iranian president's New York hopes

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned the Iranian President Ahmadinejad that he should not distract the attention of the conference regarding Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which will be held in New York, from its main goals. But this conference is the most suitable moment for the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to fully get prepared to oppose against the nuclear policies of the West and Israel. It is not expectable that the Iranian president, who at every opportunity attacks on the West and Israel, will sit at this meeting silent.

The conference, which will begin on May 3, within 30 days will discuss the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons, disarmament and the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. On all three items of the conference, Ahmadinejad can criticize the West and Israel. If to consider the negative attitude of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) regarding the nuclear program of Israel, Ahmadinejad can gain their support. Currently, Egypt is the leader of NAM, which brings together 118 countries, and very rigidly opposes against Israel's nuclear program.

In his interview to Al-Arabiya television prior to the NPT conference, the Foreign Minister of Egypt Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that along with the new sanctions against Iran's nuclear program, it needs to discuss Israel's nuclear program. Foreign Minister of Egypt stressed the need to establish Middle East free from nuclear weapons.

According to unofficial information, Israel has 180-200 nuclear warheads. Official Tel Aviv, in turn, does not deny or confirm this information.
The NAM countries takes a constructive position with regards to Iran's nuclear program, they expressed their protest against the biased report by Yukiya Amano regarding Iran's nuclear program, former representative of Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ali Asghar Soltaniyyeh told Trend on April 15. He said about hundred NAM member countries have sent an open letter to Amano in support of Iran's nuclear program.

The declaration, signed July 30, 2008 in Tehran at a meeting of foreign ministers of NAM member countries said that Israel should join the NPT, but Iran could develop a nuclear program for peaceful purposes.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchohr Mottaki regarded the declaration as a "tough position" of NAM member countries against the imperialist West, and as a support of these countries to Iran's nuclear program. Taking the advantage of New York conference, the Iranian president once again can urge NAM member countries to unite against Israel and Western countries, and direct the conference in the U.S. in a desired way.

Iran has a strong argument to accuse the United States of the futility of conferences of NPT member countries in 2000 and 2005. By the meeting in 2000, the U.S. failed to fulfill obligations to destroy nuclear weapons. In 2005, the U.S. displayed no interest in implementing the agreements reached in 2000, and expressed unwillingness to changes in nuclear policy, motivating this with the 11 September attacks. But on April 8 the U.S. and Russia, which possess 95 percent of nuclear warheads, decided to reduce warheads and keep 1,550 warheads in each country. The international community welcomed this decision. In any case, Iran has tangible facts to "attack" upon the U.S. in connection with the destruction of nuclear weapons. On the other hand, it is not excluded that over the past 30 years, the countries that possess nuclear weapons acquired this technology from the permanent members of the UN Security Council. It is still unknown how non-member countries of the NPT, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea, have acquired the technology to produce nuclear weapons. In fact, Ahmadinejad's raising these questions is not intended to mislead the New York conference, and these issues do not belong to non-negotiable topics. But the mere doubts about Iran's nuclear program alarmed the West.