The Latest from Iran (26 August): Summit of Non-Aligned Movement Opens in Tehran

See also The Latest from Iran (25 August): Bigging Up the Non-Aligned Summit

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1515 GMT: Press Watch. The hard-line Raja News launches an attack on Reuters, condemning the agency for its reports on Iran's nuclear programme, economic tensions, and political situation.

The Reuters bureau in Tehran was effectively closed this spring by authorities, with its reporter Parisa Hafezi summoned to court and forbidden from leaving the country.

1447 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Fereydoun Abbasi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, says Tehran has no problems with snap inspections of nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency: "“Iran's nuclear programs are transparent and the IAEA inspectors can inform us of their decision two hours in advance and then visit our activities.”

“However, the [IAEA inspectors] should have adequate rationale to justify their demands for the inspection of certain sites or provide us with sufficient reasons for their allegations so that we would be convinced."

Talks on Friday between Iranian officials and the IAEA failed to resolve outstanding issues over inspections and supervision.

1241 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Egyptian Front). A spokesman for the Egyptian President has said, ahead of Mohamed Morsi's visit to Tehran for the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, "The matter (of restoring diplomatic ties with Iran) is out of the question at this stage."

Morsi will be the first Egyptian head of state to visit Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Al-Ahram also downplayed any significance, saying that Morsi will spend only four hours in Tehran on August 30, long enough to hand over the Presidency of the NAM to Iran. The site added pointedly that the Egyptian President will stop in Tehran on his way back from a 36-hour visit to China.

0931 GMT: Foreign Affairs Watch (Syrian Front). A Parliament delegation, including the head of the National Security Committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, is in Damascus. The group has been received by President Assad.

0915 GMT: The 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement has opened in Tehran with meetings of "expert-level" officials. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi focused on Israel and "the Palestinians’ right to determine their own destiny and opposition to the illegitimate occupying regime".

Salehi, declaring the importance of a fight against acts of terror, asserted, “We believe that the Zionist regime is one of the sources of terrorism and efforts by the US government to misuse the September 11 terrorist events led to more insecurity in the Middle East region and have laid a new ground to justify the US domineering goals under the pretext of the fight against terrorism."

In Press TV's summary, there was no reference to the Syrian crisis, only Salehi's description of developments in the Middle East and North Africa since the start of 2011 and support of "dialogue, respect for fundamental human rights, and the fulfillment of basic needs of people [as] the only solutions to challenges created by autocratic regimes".

Salehi, repeating a long-time position of President Ahmadinejad, called for "fundamental reforms" of the United Nations, with “a more democratic Security Council” as a major part of its reforms.