Ayatollah Alireza Arafi made the remarks while addressing an international conference about the Karabakh region in the central city of Qom on Monday.
"Holding this international conference in Qom, as one of the main bases of Islamic thought and as the city that founded the Islamic Revolution, has a special meaning and that is our great religious figures have a position on important issues of the Islamic world,” the Seminary head said.
“The discourse of the Islamic Revolution in the circle of the Islamic Ummah is based on unity, convergence and resistance,” he said, adding, “Courage against the aggressors of the Islamic Ummah and the oppressors and bullies is one of the pillars of the discourse of the Islamic Revolution.”
He noted this discourse follows the ideals and teachings of Islamic Revolution’s founder, Imam Khomeini, and the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
“The Islamic Ummah has great resources and reserves; Why should the Islamic world be raped and oppressed?” Ayatollah Arafi maintained.
He said protecting Islamic countries, regardless of factors such as race, ethnicity and beliefs, is one of the demands of the leadership of the Islamic Revolution from the leaders of Islamic countries
“For us, all Islamic lands, such as Nagorno-Karabakh, are as much valuable and sacred as Palestine.”
The head of the Iranian seminaries added, “International rules and borders should be respected, and in cases such as Nagorno-Karabakh, we have taken care to observe these rules.”
Emphasizing that nothing should be used as an excuse to spread belligerence and religious violence, he said, "The discourse expressed by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution is based on these principles and we hope the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region will lead to a deeper unity among the countries of the region.”
The conference which started on Monday morning is attended by senior religious and political figures, including Abbas Araghchi, the deputy Foreign Minister, Mohsen Rezaei, Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's State Expediency Council, and Ali-Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Iranian and international experts will address the event from different aspects, including the humanistic responsibilities over the issue that have been highlighted in the remarks of the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
MNA/Howzeh946922