A senior Iranian MP condemned the attempts made by the US and its allies to hamper the presence of the Non-Alignment Movement member states in the upcoming summit meeting of the grouping in Tehran, and said the presence of Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi in the conference will be deemed as a great failure for Washington.

"Americans attempted to prevent Mr. Mursi's visit to Iran, but the Egyptian president will visit Iran, which is interpreted as failure for the US," member of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Kosari told FNA on Thursday, asking how the US expects the president of a Muslim state not to travel to another Islamic country.

Stressing that Iran and Egypt, as two powerful Islamic states, should be united in the fight against the plots of the enemies of Islam, he said, "The Zionist regime and the US plots can only be materialized through difference and discord among Muslim states."

The 16th NAM summit will be held in the Iranian capital, Tehran, from August 26 to 31.

The Iranian officials had earlier said that some 51 countries have so far announced their participation in the NAM summit at the highest level, and added that the number is growing.

"So far, 51 countries have voiced preparedness to participate in the Tehran summit at the highest level and the number is growing," Iranian Vice-President for International Affairs Ali Saeedlou told reporters after a cabinet meeting here in Tehran on Wednesday.

He added that a total number of 150 delegations from different world countries and international bodies have expressed willingness to attend the meeting, including several groupings outside the NAM which will attend the conference as special guests.

Saeedlou further stated that Iran is prepared to host 7,000 guests during the summit.

NAM is comprised of some 120 member states and 17 observer countries.

NAM is an international organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. NAM is the largest grouping of countries outside of the United Nations.

NAM member states represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations' members and comprise 55% of the world population, particularly countries considered to be developing or part of the Third World.
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News ID 182531