TEHRAN – President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday Muslims need to foster unity to protect their dignity and drive out those who cast covetous eyes on their lands.
In an address to the opening of the 38th International Islamic Unity Conference here, the president said the enemy sows discord among Muslim nations, which can be defeated only through unity.
“Unity and coherence will boost Muslims’ power,” Pezeshkian said. 
He also slammed inaction of Muslim nations vis-à-vis Israeli criminal acts against the people of Palestine and the regime’s destruction of hospitals and mosques.
“Israel commits crimes because we do not have a common stance and voice. We do not have Islamic unity,” Pezeshkian noted.
The president said Muslim nations should have a strong belief in unity and prove it in practice.
He warned that any division among Muslims is like walking along “the edge of fire” and noted that no power will be able to counter Muslim nations if they foster unity.
Separately, President Pezeshkian said Iran seeks to expand its ties with the world’s countries based on mutual respect, but stressed that the country doesn’t tolerate bullying. 
“As I have frequently stated from different platforms, we have no fight with any country, and our basis is peace and friendship and expansion of ties based on good understanding and mutual respect, but we will definitely never brook bullying,” Pezeshkian said.
Pezeshkian also stressed that national unity is the basis for the success of the country’s foreign policy.
“We believe that the country’s salvation hinges on unity and reaching a common vision and language to solve the issues.”
He noted that some Western countries, which claim to be advocates of human rights and defenders of democracy, are supporting the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza.
“These countries must say, apart from any religion and belief, how... they support the killing of tens of thousands of women and children and the bombing of schools and hospitals, while at the same time, they accuse other countries of not respecting human rights.”