Iran presents its own cease-fire proposal for Syria at Non-Aligned summit
| Dubai
Iran will ask developing nations attending a summit there to back its call for a cease-fire in聽Syria, an official said today, as聽Tehran聽seeks to be seen as a peacemaker in a region where its Arab neighbors often view it with suspicion.
Iran says the 120-nation聽Non-Aligned Movement聽(NAM) summit in its capital proves US efforts to isolate it have failed. A resolution on聽Syria聽would help聽Tehran聽argue that its ties with聽Damascus聽are benign.
"Iran's proposal to the meeting of members of the聽Non-Aligned Movement聽to solve the聽Syria聽issue is to recommend a cease-fire and the implementation of national reconciliation talks in the country," deputy foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
Tehran聽has steadfastly backed Assad since an uprising began last year, describing the president as a key part of its "axis of resistance" against聽Israel聽and Western influence in the聽Middle East.
Shi'ite Muslim Iran denies accusations it has helped Assad crush his opponents 鈥� mostly from the majority Sunni community. Assad is a member of the minority Alawite faith, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
Tehran聽blames the West and Sunni Muslim Gulf countries of fueling聽Syria's civil war by supporting the rebels.
Iran supported a failed United Nations-Arab League聽peace plan and says it should be involved in future international efforts to end the bloodshed in聽Syria.
"Bashar al-Assad聽said that any step that comes from Iran in order to solve the problem in聽Syria聽is trustworthy and acceptable," said聽Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a senior parliamentarian visiting聽Syria聽this week.
"Any plan without聽Bashar al-Assad聽is destined to fail, just like up until now it has failed," Boroujerdi told Iran's聽Fars聽news agency, saying Assad had "defeated" the uprising.
Iran had an important role to play in regional issues, particularly regarding聽Syria, UN Secretary General聽Ban Ki-moon聽told Iranian journalists on his arrival in聽Tehran聽today. He was due to meet both President聽Mahmoud Ahmadinejad聽and Supreme Leader Ayatollah聽Ali Khamenei聽later in the day.
Iran's proposal for a three-month cease-fire has been presented for discussion by NAM foreign ministers, Abdullahian said, and its outcome will be presented at the end of the summit on Aug. 31.
Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi 鈥� who is due to attend the summit as the first Egyptian leader in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution 鈥� is also expected to lay out further details of his own plan for聽Syria.
Last week, he spoke of forming a contact group comprising聽Egypt, Iran,聽Saudi Arabia聽and聽Turkey聽to resolve the crisis, an initiative the Iranian leadership is keen to pursue.
"When Mr. Morsi comes to聽Tehran聽we'll see whether there will be other initiatives by NAM. We'll have to cross our fingers and see how things move," foreign ministry official Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh told state television yesterday.
But speaking to Reuters earlier this week, Morsi made a call for Assad to be removed from power, something聽Tehran聽would oppose.
Morsi's message could also prevent the normalisation of relations between聽Cairo聽and聽Tehran. Diplomatic relations between the countries broke down over聽Egypt's support for the Shah and its peace agreement withIsrael.
In the interview, Morsi avoided answering a question on whether he intended to upgrade聽Egypt's relations with Iran but indicated he would pursue a more balanced foreign policy in general.
