The summit of the Nonaligned Movement (NAM) has opened in Tehran with the host nation's foreign minister calling on delegates of the 120-member organization to promote dialogue between civilizations and to be alert to those practicing the "egotistic politics of interference."
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi started the summit, urging delegates from developing nations to resist "unilateral economic sanctions...enacted by certain countries against nonaligned countries."
Salehi called on NAM to strengthen peace and eliminate discrimination and warned of the growing power of the UN Security Council and the need for its reform.
Iran was expected to propose a Syrian peace plan at the summit.
The head of Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Alaeddin Borujerdi, will meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later in the day.
Around 35 heads of state or government are attending the summit of the Nonalignment Movement, whose membership stretches from developing giants like India to tiny Caribbean islands.
The guest list also includes UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who resisted diplomatic pressure to boycott the event after Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad repeated his stance that Israel is a "cancerous tumor" that has no place in the Middle East.
Last week, the U.S. State Department said Iran was not "deserving" of hosting the event and would try to "manipulate participants."
Based on reporting by IRIN, IRNA, and Reuters