Derided by the United States and incomprehensible to many in the West, the upcoming Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) conference in Tehran serves as an opportunity for Iran to score diplomatic, economic and domestic political points at a time of crushing pressures.

With the announcement that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon will be attending the conference Aug. 26-31, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei already seems to have scored a victory. Much to Khamenei's delight Ban will attend despite public pleas from the US and Israel for him not to go.

As well as being an opportunity to relieve Iran’s diplomatic isolation, the meeting also will be an economic opportunity for the Iranian government. “A major opportunity to reduce the impact of and to defeat the sanctions,” is how Avaz Heydarpour, a member of the national security commission of the Iranian parliament described in a recent interview with the Tehran-based Javan newspaper, which is believed to be close to the IRGC. With officials from more than 100 countries expected to attend, the Iranian government will try to conclude as many economic agreements as possible. According to the same Javan article, the Iranian government has already prepared $60 billion worth of letters of agreement for this purpose. 

The NAM conference will also be a not-to-be missed chance for Iranian politicians to score points on Iran’s domestic political scene.