TEHRAN – Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, secretary general of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, has said the recent Islamic unity conference in Tehran marked a big defeat for the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

In an interview with Tasnim published on Saturday, Ayatollah Araki said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia had launched extensive attempts to hamper the conference, but failed to achieve their goals.

Despite the hostile attempts, the conference attracted more than 350 foreign guests from 100 countries, the cleric said, adding that the high turnout of participants from Muslim nations marked a big defeat for ill-wishers.

MH/PA