Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talks to Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi (R) after his speech during the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, August 30, 2012. 
 
 DUBAI Iran has no interest in nuclear weapons but will keep pursuing peaceful nuclear energy, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told heads of state from developing countries in Tehran. 
 
 Iran, hosting a summit of the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), is hoping the high-profile event will prove that Western efforts to isolate it and punish it economically for its disputed nuclear programme have failed. 
 
 "Our motto is nuclear energy for all and nuclear weapons for none," Khamenei told the assembled heads of state. 
 
 But discord over Syria swiftly marred the summit when Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi urged member states to support Syrians striving to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, whose staunchest regional ally is Iran. 
 
 "Our solidarity with the struggle of the Syrian people against an oppressive regime that has lost its legitimacy is an ethical duty as it is a political and strategic necessity," Mursi said, prompting a walkout by the Syrian delegation, according to the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera. 
 
 It was not immediately clear if the Syrians had returned to the meeting after Mursi's speech. 
 
 Mursi's visit to Tehran was the first by an Egyptian leader since Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, but his uncompromising speech suggested there would be no swift reconciliation between the two countries after three decades of animosity. 
 
 Diplomatic relations between Cairo and Tehran broke down immediately after Iran's revolution over Egypt's support for the overthrown Shah and over its peace agreement with Israel. 
 
 The NAM summit's final declaration is set to express deep concern about the violence in Syria and support for efforts by U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to broker a resolution to the conflict, a delegate at the meeting told Reuters. 
 
 United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, attending the Tehran summit, urged Khamenei late on Wednesday to take concrete steps to prove Iran's nuclear work is peaceful. 
 
 The West suspects Iran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability, an accusation Tehran denies. 
 
 In his speech, Khamenei criticized the U.N. Security Council as an illogical, unjust and defunct relic of the past used by the United States "to impose its bullying manner on the world". 
 
 "They (Americans) talk of human rights when what they mean is Western interests. They talk of democracy when what they have is military intervention in other countries," he added. 
 
 (Reporting by Marcus George, Zahra Hosseinian and Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Alistair Lyon) ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mohammed Mursi's comments will "really have hurt", the BBC's Jon Leyne says 
 
 Egypt's president has told a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (Nam) that the Syrian uprising is a "revolution against an oppressive regime". 
 
 Mohammed Mursi, making the first visit to Iran by an Egyptian leader since 1979, said the movement had an "ethical duty" to support the uprising. 
 
 His comments sparked a walkout by the Syrian delegation. 
 
 Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Mr Mursi's speech "incites continued bloodshed in Syria". 
 
 Egypt has been holding the rotating Nam presidency and Mr Mursi was handing the duty over to Iran during his visit. 
 
 He used his speech to tell delegates of the 120-member body: "Our solidarity with the struggle of the Syrian people against an oppressive regime that has lost its legitimacy is an ethical duty, as it is a political and strategic necessity. 
 
 Analysis President Mursi's speech in Tehran marks an important moment as he defines Egypt's new foreign policy. The new Egyptian leader has defied Washington, by going to Tehran for the Non-Aligned summit. Now he has angered the Iranian government by criticising their allies, the Syrian regime. The message is clear. Egypt intends to have a new, independent and assertive foreign policy. It is a huge contrast from the days of President Hosni Mubarak who was seen, by many Egyptians, as slavishly following the Americans. But it will also provide some reassurance to Washington, showing there is not about to be a new "Islamic axis" between the Muslim Brotherhood-led government of Egypt and the Islamic Republic of Iran. 
 
 "We all have to announce our full solidarity with the struggle of those seeking freedom and justice in Syria, and translate this sympathy into a clear political vision that supports a peaceful transition to a democratic system of rule that reflects the demands of the Syrian people for freedom." 
 
 He compared the anti-government movement in Syria to the Palestinians, saying they were both "actively seeking freedom, dignity and human justice", and said Egypt was "ready to work with all to stop the bloodshed". 
 
 The BBC's Iran correspondent, James Reynolds, says Tehran's hope for the summit was to show the West the Islamic Republic had plenty of friends elsewhere, but Mr Mursi's comments would certainly have upset the hosts. 
 
 However, he says not everyone in Iran would have noticed, as one Iranian state TV channel mistranslated Mr Mursi's words into Persian, giving the impression that president was actually speaking in support of the Syrian government. 
 
 Syria's delegation walked out of the conference room when Mr Mursi began speaking, Egyptian and Syrian media reported. Iranian media said they had simply left to conduct an interview. 
 
 Mr Muallem said Mr Mursi's comments "violated the traditions of the summit and are considered interference in Syrian internal affairs". 
 
 He accused Mr Mursi of "inciting continued bloodshed in Syria". 
 
 Syria's exit illustrates the strong divisions that are likely to overshadow or even dominate this summit Read more from James 
 
 Mr Mursi's visit was the first by an Egyptian leader to Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when Iran cut ties with President Anwar Sadat's administration over its signing of a peace treaty with Israel. 
 
 After his speech, Mr Mursi met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 
 
 Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said the presidents had discussed bilateral ties and "emphasised the need to solve the Syria crisis via diplomacy and to prevent foreign intervention". 
 
 Mr Mursi left Tehran shortly afterwards, Iranian media said. 
 
 'Serious concerns' 
 
 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is attending the summit, said Syria was facing a long-term civil war, and warned that "those who provide arms to either side in Syria are contributing to the misery". 
 
 "The situation cannot be resolved with the blood and the bodies of more than 18,000 people and counting. There should be no more bullets and bombs. I urge all parties in the strongest possible terms to stop the violence now," he said. 
 
 Non-Aligned Movement Formed in 1961, originally an alliance of newly independent Afro-Asian states 
 
 Currently 120 members, comprising nations ostensibly unaligned with the major world powers 
 
 Aims to represent the political, economic and cultural interests of the developing world Profile: Non-Aligned Movement Syria rebels 'down fighter jet' 
 
 Mr Ban's acceptance of Tehran's invitation to the summit was described by the US State Department as "strange", but the South Korean has not shied from drawing attention to the Iran's human rights record, telling a press conference he had "serious concerns". 
 
 Nuclear disarmament is also on the agenda of the talks and in his speech to delegates on Thursday, Ayatollah Khamenei said that, contrary to the view held in the West, Iran was "never seeking nuclear weapons". 
 
 He said such weapons were "a major and unforgivable sin", but that Iran would "never give up the right to peaceful nuclear energy". 
 
 The ayatollah also criticised the "illogical" structure of the United Nations Security Council, saying it enabled the US to impose its "bullying manner" on the world, Reuters reports. 
 
 Mr Ban responded to the ayatollah's statement by calling on Iran to build confidence in its nuclear ambitions by co-operating fully with the Security Council over its nuclear programme. 
 
 He also rebuked Tehran for its hostility towards Israel, saying: "I strongly reject threats by any member states to destroy another or outrageous attempts to deny historical facts such as Holocaust." 
 
 However, Mr Ban's comments were also altered on Iranian state TV. 
 
 IRTV1 removed all references to Israel and the Holocaust, while rolling news channel IRINN's translation was: "I, as the secretary-general, cannot accept that threats or improper words are used in the political scene and create a situation which we cannot control." 
 
 IRINN's translation of Mr Ban's comments on the nuclear issue wrongly stated that he had noted that "the Islamic Republic of Iran's co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency has been constructive, effective and positive". ||||| The U.N. chief jolted his Iranian hosts for a nonaligned nations meeting Wednesday by pointing out "serious concerns" in Tehran's human rights record and urging cooperation with the world body to improve freedoms. 
 
 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, second right, reviews an honor guard, as he is welcomed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, for their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012.... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by the official website of the Iranian Presidency Office, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, shakes hands with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, at the start of their... (Associated Press) 
 
 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, left, is welcomed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, for a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) (Associated Press) 
 
 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, welcomes Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) (Associated Press) 
 
 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, second right, reviews an honor guard, as he is welcomed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, for their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012.... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by the official website of the Iranian Presidency Office, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, left, talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, during their meeting... (Associated Press) 
 
 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had signaled he would not shy away from criticism of Iran during his visit to the Nonaligned Movement gathering in Tehran, but the sharp comments appeared to catch Iranian officials off guard just hours after his arrival. 
 
 "We have discussed how United Nations can work together with Iran to improve the human rights situation in Iran. We have our serious concerns on the human rights abuses and violations in this country," he told a news conference as he sat next to Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, who frowned at the remarks. 
 
 Iran's opposition groups had urged Ban to use his appearance in Tehran as a platform to criticize Iran's ruling system over its crackdowns on political dissent, including the house arrests of opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi. 
 
 While in Tehran, Ban also could raise sensitive issues such as demands by U.N. nuclear inspectors for wider access to various sites, including a military base near Tehran suspected of being a proving ground for explosives experiments that could be used to test nuclear triggers. Iran denies it seeks nuclear arms, but Western nations and allies fear Tehran's uranium enrichment labs are moving close to warhead-grade material. 
 
 U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said in his talks, Ban expressed frustration that `'little tangible progress" has been made in talks between Iran and world powers over Tehran's nuclear program. No date has been set to resume negotiations after several rounds over the past months. 
 
 Iran says it wants talks to continue, but also claims that the current gathering in Tehran shows that Western efforts to isolate Iran have failed. 
 
 In Vienna, the U.N.'s nuclear agency has created a special Iran Task Force of nuclear weapons experts, intelligence analysts and other specialists focused on probing Tehran's atomic program, according to an internal document shared with The Associated Press. 
 
 Iran is seeking to use the weeklong meeting of the 120-nation Nonaligned Movement to promote its position that its nuclear program is peaceful and its uranium enrichment is within the U.N. treaty rules. The meetings are capped by a two-day summit that begins Thursday. 
 
 Ban's visit is being interpreted by Iranian media as a blow to Western attempts to isolate the Islamic republic in defiance of Israeli and American calls to boycott the meeting. 
 
 Tehran is also seeking to win support from the nonaligned bloc, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the U.N. member states, for its nuclear program. A visit to Natanz uranium enrichment site in central Iran by participating leaders has not been ruled out. 
 
 Ban met Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad later Wednesday. 
 
 Khamenei called on him to take action over Israel's nuclear weapons, according to Khamenei's website, calling this "a big danger to the region." Israel has never acknowledged having nuclear weapons but is widely believed to have a large arsenal. 
 
 In advance, Ban also said he would discuss the Syria crisis with Iranian leaders, who remain staunch allies of Bashar Assad's regime. The U.N. chief has in the past called Iran a major player capable of mediating in regional conflicts, including Syria's civil war. 
 
 Nesirky, the U.N. spokesman, said that in his meetings in Tehran Ban "urged the leadership _ the president, the Supreme Leader, the speaker of parliament _ to really reach out to the Syrian leadership and impress on them the really urgent need to stop the violence and to create the conditions that are necessary for a political process." 
 
 Iran plans to propose the formation of a three-member nonaligned team, plus two neighbors of Syria, to help resolve the crisis there, Iran's state media quoted prominent lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi as saying. 
 
 The proposed troika will include Egypt, Iran and Venezuela plus Iraq and Lebanon. Boroujerdi, who met Assad during a visit to Syria last week, said the Syrian president said he would welcome the Iranian plan. 
 
 Khamenei told Ban that the solution is to stop weapons shipments to the Syrian rebels, or as he put it, "irresponsible groups inside Syria," according to his website. 
 
 A senior Iranian official gave details of the plan Iran is proposing at the summit. 
 
 "Iran's proposal ... is a cease-fire and the implementation of a three-month mechanism for national reconciliation talks in this country," the official IRNA news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying Wednesday. 
 
 Anti-regime fighters have dismissed any role for Iran in such a plan. The rebels and some others say it has little hope of succeeding. Also, the United States has rejected Iranian participation in international meetings on the Syrian crisis. 
 
 In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland urged Ban to press Iran over Syria. She said Iran does have a role to play: "It can break with the Assad regime and stop providing material support and arms and advisers and all of these kinds of things," she said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations. ||||| TEHRAN — Anti-Western symbolism was rampant across Iran's capital city on Sunday as the Islamic Republic welcomed attendees of a weeklong gathering of nonaligned nations, a Cold War-era movement that Iranian officials have embraced as a counterweight to U.S.-led efforts to isolate their country. 
 
 As the sessions began, a balloon with a message hailing Iran as a "cradle of peace and justice" hovered near the site of the former U.S. Embassy, where Iranian militants held 52 people hostage almost 33 years ago. 
 
 At a major entranceway to the summit venue were arrayed three battered cars — the wrecks, officials said, of vehicles bombed to assassinate Iranian scientists. Iran blames Israel and the West for attacks that have killed at least five members of the nation's scientific community in recent years. 
 
 INTERACTIVE: Who's who of the Non-Align Movement 
 
 Security was extremely tight and authorities warned dissidents not to consider actions that might embarrass the government, despite calls for protests on social media and expatriate websites. 
 
 Authorities have declared a weeklong holiday and encouraged residents to leave Tehran to make room for the thousands of delegates from at least 118 nations scheduled to visit, according to the Foreign Ministry. 
 
 The Non-Aligned Movement traces its origins to the desire of such leaders as Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito and former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser to chart a course independent of the Eastern and Western blocs in the 1950s and '60s. 
 
 Today, Tehran sees the group as a potential bulwark against international sanctions and the possibility of an Israeli or U.S. bombing strike aimed at its nuclear development program. 
 
 The gathering is shaping up as a global stage for Iran to thumb its nose at the United States and dispute Washington's insistence that Tehran is an isolated rogue state and sponsor of terrorism. 
 
 INTERACTIVE: Who's who of the Non-Align Movement 
 
 Iran, which is assuming the rotating presidency of the group, has highlighted the anticipated attendance of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon — whose office says he is coming despite a personal plea from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he stay away — and of President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt. Morsi would be the first Egyptian head of state to visit since the 1979 founding of the Islamic Republic. 
 
 Also expected to attend is India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, whose nation remains a major oil client of Iran. The foreign minister of North Korea, an ally of Tehran, arrived here Sunday, Iranian news media reported. 
 
 Meanwhile, in an apparent bid to calm a brewing controversy about competing Palestinian envoys, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has decided not to attend the conference, news agencies reported. The decision would seem to avert a potentially delicate diplomatic situation for Iran, a major backer of Hamas, a militant group. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had threatened to boycott the conference if Haniyeh attended. Abbas' Fatah faction, which governs the West Bank, and Hamas are rivals. 
 
 "Many of us are victims [of] nefarious terrorist acts," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in his opening remarks at the forum, accusing "some Western powers" of promoting terrorism. 
 
 The U.S. and Israel, however, have said Iran and its proxies have masterminded terrorist plots across the globe. 
 
 Iran's top diplomat lauded the nation's "peaceful nuclear program" and renewed Tehran's call for a "nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East," directly assailing Israel, widely believed to be the region's sole nuclear-armed nation. 
 
 Israeli and U.S. officials fear Iran is pursuing a nuclear bomb and have not ruled out a military attack to prevent Tehran from achieving weapons capability. Washington and its allies have imposed escalating economic sanctions on Tehran in a bid to force concessions on the nuclear issue. 
 
 Iran, a close ally of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, says a new peace plan for Syria is on the agenda. But few hold out hope for a breakthrough. Rebels fighting to oust Assad accuse Iran of propping up the Syrian president. 
 
 The cost of hosting the extravaganza has caused some grumbling among Tehran residents already angry about rising prices and shrinking real wages. But some Iranians have voiced support for the conference as a source of national pride. 
 
 Mostaghim is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Patrick J. McDonnell in Beirut contributed to this report. ||||| Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi arrived in Tehran on Thursday in the first visit by an Egyptian leader to Iran in decades. 
 
 Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi meets with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, unseen, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012. Morsi was in China on a three-day visit since... (Associated Press) 
 
 The Egyptian president was attending a summit of the Nonaligned Movement, and is supposed to transfer leadership of the 120-nation bloc to Tehran. 
 
 Iran's state TV in a live broadcast showed Morsi being received by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the summit conference hall in Tehran. 
 
 Tehran cut diplomatic relations in 1979 because of Egypt's peace accord with Israel. Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has considered Israel as its arch foe. 
 
 Iran's leadership welcomed the 2011 uprising in Egypt that ultimately brought Morsi, an Islamist, to the presidency. 
 
 Representatives from more than 100 countries are attending. 
 
 Tehran has an ambitious agenda for the summit, including the launching of a peace effort including Egypt, Iran, and three other countries to help resolve the crisis in its key regional ally, Syria. But anti-regime fighters have dismissed any role for Iran in a plan they and some others say has little hope of succeeding. 
 
 Iran is also using the summit to counter U.S. claims that it has been isolated over its nuclear program. The West says Iran is trying to develop weapons while Tehran says the program is for peaceful purposes.
– Egypt's new president arrived in Iran today for a historic visit, the AP reports—and he promptly sparked a walkout at the Nonaligned Movement Summit. Mohamed Morsi, the first Egyptian leader to visit Iran since Tehran cut diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1979 over its peace treaty with Israel, praised the Syrian rebels—thus angering the Syrian delegation, which left the meeting. Morsi called the Syrian uprising a "revolution against an oppressive regime," the BBC reports, and called for the Nonaligned Movement to support it. More from the summit: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, whose presence at the summit is bugging the US, met with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday to ask that Iran, one of the Syrian regime's last remaining allies, try to get the Syrian government to end the violence. But Khamenei insists the government should continue to be armed while the rebels should have no weapons, reports the AP. Khamenei also insisted Iran is not interested in developing nuclear weapons, but will continue to pursue nuclear energy, Reuters reports. "Our motto is nuclear energy for all and nuclear weapons for none," Khamenei said, calling nuclear weapons "a major and unforgivable sin." But the Wall Street Journal reports that an Iranian scientist considered to be a nuclear weapons guru a la Robert Oppenheimer has resurfaced after a few years off the job. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is back at work, UN investigators find, prompting more concern over Iran's nuclear agenda. Fakhrizadeh's work had been frozen in 2006; he is believed to be running a nuclear weapons-minded research facility in the suburbs of Tehran.