Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in a message to the 21st International Persian Gulf Conference said the commonalities of the regional nations require them to stand against any foreign intervention in the region.

"The Persian Gulf is vital for all the regional nations, including Iran," said Salehi in his message, and warned that the western powers specially the US are seeking hard to sow discord among the regional nations in a bid to "prevent convergence in the region".

"The religious, cultural, political, economic and social commonalities, and more importantly the unchangeable reality of neighborliness all require us to take a lesson from previous incidents to have a brighter future," the Iranian foreign minister said.

He underlined the need for all-out security, economic and political cooperation among the regional nations, and urged these nations "to reject foreign meddling and show no respect for the everlasting divisive murmurs of the aliens".

The 21st International Persian Gulf Conference kicked off work in Iran's Southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Tuesday.

Secretary of the Conference Mehrdad Kiyayee told FNA that over 40 articles, including 22 from foreign countries, have been presented to the meeting.

The inaugural session will be addressed by Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi.
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