Iran's top lawmaker called for creation of a West Asian alliance to foster peace, security and development in the region.
"Regional states such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan and others can replace attritional rivalries with a movement toward West Asia's calm, based on a broad definition of Islam, defense of Palestinian people, the fight against terrorism and common economic interests," Ali Larijani was also quoted as saying by ICANA.
Larijani made the statement in the opening speech of the Tehran Security Conference themed "Regional Security Order in West Asia" on Sunday.
"In this framework, disputes over geographical borders and tactical interests will fade into insignificance compared to long-term interests and the huge military spending of regional countries will be allocated to developing new economic units," he said.
The parliament speaker said all regional states, particularly Saudi Arabia, should know that "neither is Iran their enemy nor does it oppose their positive role in the region".
"But we oppose warmongering in Yemen and Syria," he said, adding that Iran believes that the solutions to regional conflicts "are political and based on national unity governments resorting to democratic methods".
Larijani said Tehran does not seek to build an empire or achieve regional hegemony to advance its interests, but rather seeks to "empower Muslims".
He said there is no sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shias, noting that it has become a false pretext to justify wrongdoing, which he referred to as "a nefarious ploy".
The one-day conference was aimed at examining ways of promoting sustainable peace in the region and shaping the future security order in the troubled West Asia.
Other top officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, also addressed the event.
