The two-day Non Aligned Movement countries opened in Tehran on Thursday, with leaders and officials of more than 120 states gathering in an event that defied the isolation the US and the Zionist entity had threatened earlier.

The two-day Non Aligned Movement countries opened in Tehran on Thursday, with leaders and officials of more than 120 states gathering in an event that defied the isolation the US and the Zionist entity had threatened earlier.

In addition to Egyptian President Mohamad Mursi who arrived on Thursday, and UN Chief Ban Ki –moon, leaders included the presidents of Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Zimbabwe and the Palestinian Authority, and the emir of Qatar.
The prime ministers of India, Iraq and Syria were also present.

North Korea was represented by its ceremonial head of state, parliamentary president Kim Yong-Nam, rather than the country's leader Kim Jong-Un.

In all, 29 of the 120 nations in the NAM meeting were represented by heads of state or government. The other three-quarters were represented by senior officials: vice presidents, deputy prime ministers, foreign ministers and envoys.

The leaders of some countries who had been expected by Iran to show up for the summit -- Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Ghana and Kuwait -- did not make it for the opening.