Speaking to reporters here in Tehran on Sunday, Secretary-General of the International Islamic Awakening Conference Ali Akbar Velayati pointed to the 200-year-long history of Islamic awakening in the region, and stressed, "Muslim intellectuals and thinkers have had good interaction during the 200-year-long history of Islamic awakening in the region and Iran has had a strong role during that era."
He further noted Iran's role and influence on the recent popular uprisings and Islamic awakening in the Middle-East and North of Africa, and stated, "And today once again, the Islamic Revolution is a flag-bearer of this new wave (of Islamic awakening)."
"What has happened (in the region) is inspired by (the Late) Imam Khomeini's movement."
Velayati, who is also Supreme Leader's Advisor for International Affairs, stated that Iran's influence doesn't mean that it is interfering in the regional states' affairs or does not feel respect for the international laws.
Since the beginning of 2011, the Muslim world has witnessed popular uprisings and revolutions similar to what happened in Iran in 1979.
Tunisia saw the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a popular revolution in January, which was soon followed by a revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in February.
Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have since been the scene of protests against their totalitarian rulers, who have resorted to brutal crackdown on demonstrations to silence their critics.
In Libya, while the euphoric Libyan revolutionaries seized control of most of Tripoli on August 22 in a lightning advance, they are still inches away from final victory.
In similar remarks in April, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei had also underscored the profound and vast influence of Iran's Islamic Revolution on the growing waves of Islamic awakening in the region.
"Thanks to Islam and Islamic Revolution, a public Islamic awakening has happened in the region today, which will definitely yield its results as it has already yielded (some of) its results in certain points," Ayatollah Khamenei said, addressing a group of Iranian people here in Tehran in April.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is due to host a high-profile international conference on the rising tides of Islamic Awakening in the Middle-East and North Africa later this month.
Velayati, who is the Secretary-General of the conference, also told reporters today that "the conference will be held in Tehran on September 17-18 and it will be attended by thinkers and intellectuals from 80 different world countries".
Velayati, who is a top advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader for international affairs, further pointed out that the conference is not a state-sponsored move, but added that a large number of government offices and ministries as well as cultural bodies have rendered assistance to the organizers of the gathering.
"No phenomenon or development which has happened as a result of Islamic awakening in different countries, including Yemen, Libya, Syria and Bahrain, will be left untouched in this conference and we will recognize no limit for expression of views and beliefs in this conference," he reiterated, and mentioned that participants in the conference will come from both Muslim and non-Muslim countries.