Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the UN should admit Palestine as a full member state, voicing the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)’s support for the move

Zarif made the remarks on Thursday in a meeting of the Palestine Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly session in New York. Iran is the current chair of NAM.


“We are ready to support Palestine in international communities,” Zarif said as chairman of the committee, adding the NAM has backed the Palestinian cause.

During the committee meeting, the latest developments regarding Palestine were discussed and possible ways to resolve the issue of Palestine were reviewed.

Several other topics were also discussed at the meeting, including Israel’s settlement activities, Palestinian prisoners and the Tel Aviv regime’s attacks on holy sites, mosques and schools.

On November 29, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status at the UN from "non-member observer entity" to "non-member observer state" despite strong opposition from Israel and the US.

One hundred and thirty-eight voted in favor of the measure, nine against and 41 abstained.

The move followed a failed bid to join the international body as a full member state in 2011 because of a lack of support in the UN Security Council.

The upgrade allows the Palestinians to participate in debates at the UN General Assembly and improve their chances of joining UN agencies and the International Criminal Court (ICC) where they could file complaints against Israel.