United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has rebuffed calls from the United States and Israel to boycott an upcoming international conference in Iran. On Wednesday, a U.N. spokesperson confirmed Ban will attend next week’s gathering of non-aligned developing nations in Tehran.

Martin Nesirky: “The secretary-general looks forward to the summit as an opportunity to work with the participating heads of state and government, including the host country, towards solutions on issues that are central to the global agenda, including follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, disarmament, conflict prevention, and support for countries in transition. The secretary-general also takes seriously his responsibility and that of the United Nations to pursue diplomatic engagement with all of its member states.”