TEHRAN – A top Iranian Foreign Ministry official said on Monday Iran has been seeking to strengthen the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in line with maintaining Islamic solidarity and preventing disunity among Islamic countries.

Abbas Araqchi, the deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, made the remarks in a preliminary meeting of the OIC in Istanbul, Turkey.

OIC heads of state will meet in Istanbul on Thursday and Friday. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will attend the summit.

The OIC meetings were held on Sunday and Monday and draft of a statement has been prepared to be studied by the foreign ministers on Tuesday. The Iranian foreign minister arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Araqchi went on to say that the issue of Islamic unity and ways to heal the divisions are mentioned in the draft of the statement.

He said a separate statement on Palestine has been prepared.

He said that the OIC prioritizes resistance against the Zionist regime of Israel and support for the Palestine cause and will not let the Palestinian ideals be undermined.

Iran has always made efforts to prevent the organization from distancing itself from its main goals, he said.

The OIC is an international organization founded in 1969 consisting of 57 member states. The organization states that it is “the collective voice of the Muslim world” and works to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony”.

NA/PA