The base of the summit's negotiations' framework is the "Final Document" adopted during the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Coordinating Bureau which was held in
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 7 to 10 May 2012. Foreign Minister
Ali Akbar Salehi opened the first meeting and spoke of NAM's original goal: "We believe that the timetable for ultimate removal of nuclear weapons by 2025, which was proposed by NAM, will only be realised if we follow it up decisively." At the opening of the ministerial meeting Khamenei said: "The UN Security Council has an irrational, unjust and utterly undemocratic structure, and this is an overt dictatorship. The control room of the world (the Security Council) is under the control of the dictatorship of some Western countries." Al Jazeera interpreted Moon's reaction as "nonplussed."
Senior Officials Meeting The Senior Officials Meeting was held on 26 and 27 August 2012. The officials reviewed the Sharm el-Sheikh's document and issued a draft document which should be endorsed by the ministerial meetings. Iran's deputy foreign minister,
Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh, who is also secretary general of the senior officials meeting, read parts of the draft document at the press conference and mentioned some of the main points including rejection of all forms of terrorism, as well as all form of occupation including occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel, requesting
weapons of mass destruction and
nuclear weapon disarmament, condemning unilateral sanctions and replacing unipolar management of international politics with collective management. According to Akhundzadeh, the draft urges for a Middle East free from nuclear weapons and emphasizes "inalienable" right of all NAM member states for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, envisaged by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Ministerial Meeting The Ministerial Meeting with presence of foreign ministers of NAM countries was held on 28 and 29 August 2012. Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, handed the presidency of the ministerial meeting for three years at the opening ceremony of the meeting. After opening remark of Ali Akbar Salehi and listening to the report of Senior Officials Meeting which was delivered by Mohammad Mehdi Akhondzadeh, the ministers starts to review the document. After preparation of the final document for the leaders' summit, Ali Akbar Salehi participated in a press conference and emphasized on the four main topics that were discussed at the meeting including establishment a task force in New York to pursue Palestine's membership in the United Nations and act against Israel's "illegal" measures against Palestinians, finding solution for
Syrian crisis with United Nations cooperation, acting against monopolizing of the financial mechanisms in the world by using US dollar and finally establishment of a work group in New York to study the mechanisms of plural management of the world.
Leaders' Summit On 30 August, the summit was inaugurated by Iran's
Supreme Leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Then the Egyptian President, Mohammad Morsi, as the chair of the 15th summit declared opening of the 16th summit and presented the report of NAM's chairmanship during the past three years. Morsi officially handed the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement to the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. After Morsi, President of the
Sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Chair of the
Group of 77 Mourad Benmehidi, host President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh delivered their opening speeches. Khamenei later commented that "the Non-Aligned Movement definitely has more political right than the US, NATO or some European countries to intervene in the Syrian issue," but "did not elaborate on what kind of role the group should have". Inaugurating the summit, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei condemned the use of
nuclear and
chemical weapons as an "unforgivable sin", and called for "Middle East Free from Nuclear Weapons". Khamenei argued that it was ironic for the US to oppose nuclear proliferation while, according to Khamenei, it possessed the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and had used them in the past. He also accused the US and its Western allies of providing "the usurper Zionist regime" with nuclear weapons. A day after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asked Khamenei to lower his rhetoric on Israel, Other Iranian officials stated that the Security Council had more power than the General Assembly and criticized the veto rights of its permanent members. Khamenei accused the United States of protecting the interests of the
Western countries in the name of "human rights", interfering militarily in other countries in the name of "democracy", and targeting civilians in the name of "combating terrorism." Khamenei also proposed improving the "political productivity" of the Non-Aligned Movement in global governance and called for a "historic document", an active
secretariat, and administrative tools to achieve this. He also called for economic cooperation and for cultural relationships between NAM members. Following Khamenei's remarks, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was described as visibly irritated, denounced Iran's position towards Israel in his opening speech. "I strongly reject threats by any member state to destroy another or outrageous attempts to
deny historical facts, such as
the Holocaust," he said. "Claiming that another UN Member State, Israel, does not have the right to exist, or describing it in racist terms, is not only utterly wrong but undermines the very principles we have all pledged to uphold." While describing Iran's cooperation with the
International Atomic Energy Agency as "constructive and useful," Ban Ki-moon demanded that Iran boost global confidence in its nuclear program by "fully complying with the relevant (UN) Security Council resolutions and thoroughly cooperating with the IAEA." Walid al-Moallem, Syrian foreign minister, walked out in protest, although Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remained seated beside Morsi. Morsi called for a peaceful transition to freedom and democracy in Syria. Like Iran, Morsi also called for reform in the structure of the UN Security Council. Morsi and Iran also both supported the Palestinian bid for a seat at the UN. At the summit Egypt's Mohammed Morsi also handed over the leadership of the body to Iran for the next three years. Indian Prime Minister,
Manmohan Singh, called for a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Syria and pledged support for the Palestinian movement. He also called for reform in the UN Security Council, the
World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund. The summit also drew up a draft resolution on ending the Syrian conflict. The summit's final declaration ratified on 31 August by the 120 members of NAM, emphasizes on the right of all countries to develop and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and notably singles out Iran. In addition, it condemns unilateral sanctions, supports creation of a Palestinian state, advocates nuclear disarmament, human rights free from political agendas and opposition to racism and "
Islamophobia". But due to lack of consensus among member states it did not mention to Syria's civil war. At the end of the summit,
Venezuela was declared as the host of the 17th summit with the consensus of the member states. India, Iran and Afghanistan agreed to set up a joint working group to discuss the development of the strategically important
Chahbahar port in Iran. At two separate meetings with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spokesman Martin Nesirky said that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a stop to their threats against Israel, and said that "their verbal attacks on Israel were offensive, inflammatory, and unacceptable." Ban also said that Iran needed to take "concrete steps to address the concerns of the International Atomic Energy Agency and prove to the world its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes." Human rights were also discussed. In addition, United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon criticised Iran for alleged "serious concerns on the human rights abuses and violation[s]" and urged Iran to cooperate with the United Nations to improve its human rights record. Iranian Parliament Speaker
Ali Larijani, who sat next to Ban, was reported by
Ynet as having frowned at the remarks. He also met Syria's PM Wael al-Halaqi and Foreign Minister
Walid Muallem and later told a news conference about the meeting that in regards to the violence "the primary responsibility resting on the government to halt its use of heavy weapons. [He] demands for all sides to cease all forms of violence. What is important at this time is that all the parties must stop the violence. All those actors who may be providing arms to both sides...must stop." He further mentioned that he had called on Iran to support his call "and I have a strong assurance from Iran that it will do so." He also met the new UN-Arab League envoy
Lakhdar Brahimi. ==Reactions and assessments==