TEHRAN -- Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has said the Palestine issue is Iran’s main concern.

Rafsanjani made the remarks in a meeting with Palestine’s Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah here on Wednesday.
Iran has been seriously pursuing the Palestine issue for quite a long time particularly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, he stated.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said Iran supports all nations and groups who campaign against hegemonic powers in the region and the world.
Rafsanjani also said the West’s mounting pressure on Iran and its friends is due to the fact that they are afraid of Islam’s power and the struggle against hegemonic powers by popular movements in the region.
He said before invading Iraq the U.S. and its European allies had presumed they could encircle Iran and make it submit to their demands, but after the occupation of Iraq they were surrounded by Iran and its friends in the region.
The Islamic Jihad chief also thanked Iran for its moral support to Palestinians over the last three decades, saying these supports would lead to an ultimate victory by the Palestinian nation.
He went on to say that Iran has proven it can play an important role in the international arena