The 120-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has unanimously endorsed Iran’s civilian nuclear energy program, saying Iran has not only the right to produce energy through nuclear fission, but has a right to enrich their own uranium to do so.

This statement, part of the “Tehran Declaration,” stands in sharp contrast to Western positions on the matter, which have regularly claimed Iran was violating international norms by enriching their own uranium for civilian purposes.

Notably even Egypt signed on to the declaration, despite a very public row yesterday at the summit during which President Mursi condemned Syria and sparked a walkout. The declaration did not mention Syria.

The NAM endorsement is particularly important as its membership amounts of about 2/3 of the nations on the planet, a strong voting majority in the UN General Assembly. This would make it extremely difficult for the Obama Administration to push to punish Iran for its program through the general assembly.