An adviser to the parliament speaker on international affairs said the recent Islamic parliamentary union conference held in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was a well-organized conference and a victory for the Iraqi nation.
Hossein Sheikholeslam also told Tasnim News Agency on Saturday that Iran had recommended Iraq to hold this year's confab and supported the Arab country's bid during the previous conference held in Turkey last year. "It was a very important confab," he said, adding that the organization of such a meeting was a blow to certain monarchies that wanted to prove democracy would not work in Iraq.
"Holding the confab was a victory for Iraq," he said.
The adviser further said regional states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE tried to prevent the conference from reaching quorum.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar did not attend the confab, but Kuwait and Oman were present in the conference.
"Such efforts by West-oriented monarchies led to their own isolation and defeat," Sheikholeslam said, reiterating that the Iraqi nation, government and parliament were the victors.
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani attended the 11th Conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states that was held on January 20-25. The union holds annual meetings to address the problems of Muslim countries. It was established in Iran on 17 June 1999 and its head office is located in Tehran.
