Teheran to bolster status at intl summit

Iran on Monday was deploying heavy security around the Non-Aligned Movement summit, which Teheran wants to use to bolster its international status and to prove that Washington has failed to isolate it from the rest of the world.

The 110,000 police dispatched around the country and a five-day holiday in Teheran underline the importance that Iran has attached to the 16th NAM summit on Thursday and Friday. Heads or high-ranking officials from more than 100 countries are expected to attend.

The summit, which is being presented by Iranian state television as a "turning point" for the Islamic republic, also marks the start of Iran's three-year presidency of the NAM.