United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Tehran to attend the Nonaligned Movement (NAM) summit and hold talks with top Iranian leaders.

Making his first-ever visit to Tehran, the UN chief was expected to discuss with the Iranian leadership the Islamic republic’s controversial nuclear projects and alleged human rights violations.

Reports said Iranian officials might seek to take Ban to the historic city of Isfahan in central Iran to show him two uranium-conversion and -enrichment sites.

A UN spokesman in New York, however, said that Ban would not inspect any nuclear sites during his visit.

The Nonaligned Movement (NAM) is a 51-year-old grouping of states that do not consider themselves part of any major power bloc.

Iran now holds the rotating leadership of the organization.

Based on reporting by AFP

By RFE/RL