Iran has submitted a request to fill the next vacant non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and has appealed to the Non-Aligned Movement, which is comprised of countries that were neutral during the Cold War, to support its application.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters Sunday that Iran's membership would "create a positive development in the performance of the Security Council," which has voted several times to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic for its refusal to comply with the Council's mandate to halt its uranium enrichment program.