WANA (Aug 27) – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for stronger cooperation among Muslim countries, proposing a mutual security pact, a permanent mechanism for resolving disputes, and deeper economic, scientific and technological cooperation across the Islamic world.

 

Speaking at the International Islamic Unity Conference, Pezeshkian stressed that no Islamic country should seek its security by making a neighboring country insecure.

 

Referring to the recent war against Iran, Pezeshkian said Tehran did not initiate the conflict but had stood firmly in the face of what he described as aggression. At the same time, he emphasized that defending Iran does not mean hostility toward neighboring nations or other Muslim countries.

 

“No Islamic territory should become a platform for aggression against another Islamic country, and no Islamic country should seek its security through the insecurity of its neighbor,” Pezeshkian said. He added that Iran was extending its hand to neighboring countries to establish such regional arrangements.

 

Three Proposals for Cooperation Among Muslim Countries

A major part of Pezeshkian’s speech focused on three practical proposals for strengthening cooperation among Islamic countries.

 

First, he called for the establishment of a mutual security and non-aggression pact among Islamic countries. Such an agreement, he said, should be based on respect for territorial integrity, preventing the use of one country’s territory or airspace to attack another, and rejecting support for destabilization or the fragmentation of Islamic countries.

 

Second, Pezeshkian proposed creating a permanent mechanism for mediation and conflict prevention in the Islamic world. He argued that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation should be able to intervene before political disputes escalate into war, with a network of trusted countries, diplomats, religious scholars and legal experts providing early warning, mediation and dispute-resolution services.

 

His third proposal was to transform the Islamic world into a network of economic, scientific and technological cooperation. Pezeshkian called for greater trade among Muslim countries, joint projects in areas such as artificial intelligence, medicine, energy, water and agriculture, and greater investment of Islamic countries’ capital in development within the Muslim world.

 

Vast Economic Potential, Limited Intra-Islamic Cooperation

Pezeshkian highlighted the demographic and economic potential of the Islamic world, noting that more than two billion Muslims live across 57 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

 

According to figures cited by the Iranian president, the combined economies of the 57 OIC member states were worth around $9.2 trillion in 2024, equivalent to approximately 8.3 percent of the global economy.

 

He also said trade among OIC members accounted for only about 19 percent of their exports that year, arguing that the figure demonstrated significant room for expanding intra-Islamic economic cooperation.

 

Pezeshkian questioned why Muslim countries are in some cases more economically connected to distant markets than to their own Muslim neighbors, and why disputes between Islamic countries so often require mediation by powers from outside the region.

 

Palestine and Support for the Oppressed

The Iranian president also reiterated the Islamic Republic’s support for Palestine, saying Tehran’s position was not based on the religious affiliation of Palestinians but on what he described as their status as an oppressed people.

 

He cited Palestine and Gaza, Sudan, Lebanon and Yemen among the places where people have borne the costs of war, occupation, extremism and geopolitical rivalries.

 

Pezeshkian also called for greater efforts to combat sectarianism, religious excommunication and attempts to incite Muslims against one another. He said religious scholars, universities and media organizations have an important responsibility in this regard.

 

Emphasis on National Unity in Iran

Pezeshkian also described national unity in Iran during the war as a major asset for the country. He said the government must help preserve that unity through justice, combating corruption and discrimination, and respecting the dignity of all citizens.

 

He stressed that if Iran calls for unity across the Islamic world, it must also strengthen unity at home.

 

Concluding his remarks, Pezeshkian said the Islamic world does not lack population, resources or potential. Rather, he argued, its central challenge is the failure to transform these dispersed capabilities into “shared will and collective power.”

 

According to the Iranian president, Islamic unity should not be viewed as a temporary political tactic, but as a long-term strategy for security, independence and cooperation among Muslim countries.