The parliament speaker said on Tuesday Iran is not looking for subservient allies, but it is seeking brotherhood in the region.
"We are not looking for pawns. We are looking for brothers and brotherhood in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region," Ali Larijani said in his address to the International Conference of Islamic World Scholars in Defense of Palestinian Resistance, which opened in Tehran on Tuesday.
He described as appalling the slaughter of the Palestinians by the Zionist regime.
Commenting on the recent Gaza war, he said precious lessons can be learned from the recent conflict between the Palestinians and Israel, the Mehr news agency reported.
He said Iran provides the Palestinian resistance with practical support rather than mere words.
"We help the Palestinian resistance, but it is not similar to what you hear at forums and conferences. We take practical steps to help them," he said.
He added Muslim nations, particularly their scholars, should not regard Palestine just as a "piece of land on the map".
The parliamentarian expressed regret over the lack of a precise strategy among Arab states to deal with the threat posed by Israel, adding the idea of reaching a compromise with the Zionist regime has diminished the might of Arab countries.
The lawmaker said the resistance movements in Lebanon and Palestine inspired by Iran's Islamic Revolution of 1979 are playing an effective role in the Middle East.
The Intifada (the uprising against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories) was the fruit of the Islamic movement in Iran, Larijani said.
"They bombed Gaza, but the Palestinians stood firm in the face of bombardment; this is the result of the Islamic school of thought."
The parliament speaker described the cause of promoting unity among Muslim nations as one of the ideals of the Islamic Revolution and said the dignity of Muslims is one of the greatest concerns of the Islamic Republic.
"We spare no expense to weaken the influence of the Zionist regime (in the region) and do not play into the enemies' hands."
