The Talkfest in Tehran: Does Anyone Really Care?
This week, Iran will be more than the country struggling under the weight of U.N. sanctions, imposed for its controversial nuclear program. It will be more than a potential target for Israeli airstrikes. It will be something other than the home of a theocratic government routinely pilloried by leading human rights groups. On Sunday, Iran became host to the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), heralding the start of a three-year turn for Tehran at the group’s helm.
Dozens of world leaders and foreign ministers, reportedly including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, new Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, India’s Prime Pinister Manmohan Singh, Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, and Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez are descending on the Islamic Republic for the summit. Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, subject of an International Criminal Court warrant, will also attend — and it’s a fair bet that he won’t be dragged from Tehran in handcuffs. North Korea is sending its nominal head of state, Kim Yong Nam, instead of new leader Kim Jong Un. In all, as many as 7,000 delegates are expected.
The spectacle of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad playing host to such a major international gathering has caused heartburn in Western capitals. The United States publicly discouraged the U.N.’s Ban from attending and none too subtly urged others to stay away. “[W]e frankly don’t think that Iran is deserving of these high-level presences that are going there,” said a U.S. State Department spokesperson.