Iran not to attend IIPU meeting in UAE

Iranian lawmaker Kazem Jalali says the Islamic Republic will not attend the upcoming extraordinary summit of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IIPU) in Abu Dhabi.

“[We] will announce in a statement that we will not be attending the Abu Dhabi extraordinary summit because this summit has been organized illegally,” spokesman for the Parliament’s (Majlis) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said on Sunday.
“The United Arab Emirates (UAE) because of having the presidency of the union has organized two meetings for the executive committee and this is against the regulations of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,” IRINN quoted Jalali as saying.

The Iranian lawmaker explained that the IIPU’s executive committee meeting is held every two years and Inter-Parliamentary Union gathers annually.

“The UAE is trying to change parts of the IIPU’s Status by holding this extraordinary meeting.”

“Iran will attend the next IIPU summit in Indonesia next year,” Jalali added.

The preliminary meetings of IIPU opened in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Over the next two days, delegates in three committees will submit their recommendations to the 13th meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States.

The committee for political and economic affairs will discuss the issue of Jerusalem and other occupied territories in Syria and Lebanon.