Iran says Hamas chief not invited to NAM summit in Tehran: Press TV

TEHRAN (ISNA)-Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas is the only Palestinian official invited to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.

“Only Mahmoud Abbas, the acting Palestinian Authority chief, has been invited to attend the Tehran summit from Palestine,” Mehmanparast was quoted by Press Tv on Sunday.

“No formal invitation has been sent for anyone else,” the Iranian official added.

“If we want to invite a special guest other than the heads of state, the invitation must be sent via the NAM office in New York,” Mehmanparast added.

Taher Al-Nouno, a spokesman for the Palestinian resistance movement, said on Saturday that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would participate in the upcoming NAM summit in Iran's capital, Tehran.

NAM, an international organization with 120 member states and 21 observer countries, is considered as not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.

NAM's purpose, as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979, is to ensure “the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries.”

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