Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said Iran is committed to promoting cooperation in the Middle East, especially in the Persian Gulf.
Addressing the 11th session of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad on Sunday, Larijani said "interventionist and irresponsible" approach of some regional and trans-regional states have inflicted irreparable damage to the Muslim world.
"Extremism, terrorism and sectarianism have become a grave threat to the regional and global peace and security," ISNA quoted Larijani as saying.
Larijani noted that many Muslim countries, including Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt, Afghanistan and Libya, have been affected by the misguided policies of other states. The top lawmaker explained that five years have passed since foreign-backed terrorists started committing crimes in Syria, while military aggression against Yemen has caused a full-scale human tragedy and destruction of infrastructures in the poorest country of the Arab world.
Larijani said it is up to all Muslims to engage in a concerted and coordinated action to stop bloodshed in Muslim countries. "The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that to root out terrorism, dealing with the ideological origins of extremism and preventing some countries from providing terrorists with financial support, arms and training are of top priority," he said.
Larijani hoped that this year's meeting could help promote brotherly ties among Muslim states and take major steps toward solving their problems.
The conference, which opened on January 20, will continue until 25. PUIC holds annual meetings to address the problems facing Muslim countries. It was established in Iran on June 17, 1999, with its head office located in Tehran. The 10th session of PUIC was held in Turkey in January 2015.
