Iranian speaker rejects outside role and calls for stronger cooperation among Muslim nations
BAKU: Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that countries of the Middle East must determine the region’s political and security order without outside interference, as Tehran continues pursuing a lasting peace arrangement with the United States.
Speaking at a meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, Ghalibaf said regional security should be built through cooperation among neighbouring states rather than through foreign involvement.
“No one’s security should depend on the insecurity of others,” Ghalibaf said in remarks broadcast by Iranian state television. He added that recent events had shown that “the era of imposing one’s will on independent nations has ended.”
Ghalibaf used the forum to present Iran’s view of the recent conflict, describing it as a wider attempt to reshape the strategic balance of the Middle East and pressure Tehran into retreat. According to Iranian media, he argued that military pressure, siege tactics, psychological warfare and acts of terror had failed to break Iranian resolve.
Iran presents conflict as proof of regional shift
Ghalibaf said the recent war was not merely a military clash but an organised campaign designed to rewrite regional equations in favour of Iran’s adversaries. However, he claimed the outcome had overturned those calculations and demonstrated the resilience of the Iranian people.
He said the conflict proved that lasting peace could not be achieved through coercion or humiliation. Instead, he argued, peace must rest on authority, dignity and mutual respect.
Speaker hails MoU and urges deeper parliamentary ties
The Iranian speaker also described the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding as a sign of American failure rather than Iranian retreat, directly contradicting recent comments by US President Donald Trump, who portrayed the agreement as an “unconditional surrender” by Tehran.
Trump has repeatedly pointed to the damage inflicted on Iran’s military and leadership during the conflict, while Iranian officials continue to frame the agreement as a political victory for Tehran.
Ghalibaf concluded by calling for stronger bilateral engagement between parliamentary leaders across the Islamic world, with particular emphasis on expanding ties with Azerbaijan, which hosted the meeting.
