Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Saturday said recent developments in the Middle East pointed to a growing shift among Muslim countries towards regional cooperation and away from reliance on extra-regional powers.
“Security built on the presence and intervention of extra-regional powers is fragile and dependent,” Ghalibaf said in a message marking Islamic Unity Week, according to Iranian state media.
Ghalibaf said foreign powers were neither capable of providing lasting security for the region nor genuinely willing to do so. He pointed to the emergence of new regional pacts and cooperation as signs that neighbouring Muslim countries were increasingly seeking to rely on their own capabilities.
He said such arrangements could mark the beginning of a “new phase” in which Muslim neighbours rely on their own capabilities and choose cooperation and brotherhood over “exhausting rivalries”.
Ghalibaf Calls For Muslim Countries To Rely On Regional Cooperation
Ghalibaf contrasted security based on the presence and intervention of extra-regional powers with arrangements built through cooperation among countries in the region.
“Security based on the will of Muslim nations and fraternal cooperation among regional countries can be stable, dignified and lasting,” he said.
He called for greater cooperation among Muslim countries and said the Islamic world should strengthen its shared identity and bonds of brotherhood.
Ghalibaf also highlighted Sunni-Shia unity within Iran, describing it as a foundation of national power and an important asset for the country’s security and development.
“Today, Sunni-Shia unity in Iran is not merely a ceremonial slogan, but one of the foundations of national power and one of the country’s major assets for security and development,” he said.
Ghalibaf expressed hope that closer cooperation among Muslim nations would usher in what he described as a new era of “Islamic unity, independence, security and dignity”, in which Muslims would determine their own destiny.
