TEHRAN - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday called on Muslim nations to strengthen their unity and establish stronger relations, saying they should avoid any statement or measure that may create rifts within their ranks.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 35th International Conference on Islamic Unity in Tehran, Raisi paid homage to the late secretary general of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, and former commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the U.S. last year.
Raisi said General Soleimani’s strides and Ayatollah Taskhiri’s scientific steps worked to erase any doubts and deviations in the Muslim world, and effectively fostered unity and cohesion among Muslims.
He described the proximity of Islamic schools of thought as an essentially strategic approach for the entire Muslim world to adopt, describing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the pivot of unity among Muslims.
Raisi also urged Muslim nations to stay away from discord and division and to avoid any divisive remarks and statements.
The Iranian president also urged the Muslim Ummah to exert efforts to liberate themselves from the yoke of the global arrogance, slamming hegemonic powers for attempting to sow the seeds of discord among Islamic nations.
“After World War II, the hegemonic system faced only one sole power, and that was the Islamic system. It, therefore, placed on agenda various threats forming Takfiri groups, arming and funding the outfits in order to plunder Muslim nations, provoking divisions among Muslims, and installing weak government that pursue their own interests, rather than those of the Muslim world,” Raisi stated.
He added, “They desecrated holy sites, created divisions among Muslim nations, exploited scholars, and disregarded the potentials of Muslims and the issue of Palestine as the Islamic Republic’s most important matter.”
Raisi warned attempts to shift attention away from the Palestinian issue, saying the Muslim world should not allow the subject to be sidelined.
He also urged Muslim states to use Islamic awakening to stand
Monday, the State Department said the Biden administration did not believe a preliminary meeting in Brussels was needed.
“To be clear, we do not think it is necessary,” department spokesman Ned Price told reporters when asked about a meeting in Brussels. “We have been very clear that the destination we seek is Vienna not an intermediate step in Brussels.”
Raisi, however, said Iran “is serious in this issue, we should see seriousness in the other party,” too.
The 2015 nuclear deal saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran has insisted its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East.