Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said Iran is not after "childish rivalries" in the Middle East, but it had been backing a strategic unity among Muslim nations since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Larijani made the statement in a meeting with a delegation of Iraqi lawmakers in Qom on Saturday where they reviewed issues of mutual interests and conferred on latest developments in the region and international arena, ICANA reported.
Larijani refused claims that Iran is pursuing sectarian policies in the region, saying its overall strategy is to help promote democracy across the world.
"Iran does not aim to promote sectarianism in the region, including Iraq," he said. "These are lies that enemies of Iraq are spreading."
Larijani said Tehran is against partitioning the regional states, Iraq and Syria in particular, and described the ongoing crisis in the Middle East as an "intrigue".
"Turmoil in the region is only to the benefit of the enemies of Muslims and the Zionist regime of Israel," he said. "We should make collective efforts to settle the terrorism crisis in the Muslim world."
