At the 13th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, leaders of Muslim countries gathered to address issues such as terrorism, the migration crisis in the region and the issue of Palestine. What has captured the attention of the Iranian media, however, is the continuing conflict between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Before the April 14 summit began, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif publicly objected to Saudi Arabia’s attempt to introduce what Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) called “four anti-Iranian resolutions and one resolution against Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the draft declaration of the OIC.” Zarif said such a statement would contradict the “spirit of Islamic unity and is in the interests of the Zionist regime" and warned that such destructive actions would have consequences.

Addressing the Iran-Iraq War and anti-Iranian resolutions at previous OIC conferences by the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein, Zarif said, “During that time Mr. Tariq Aziz, who was the foreign minister of Iraq, would pass anti-Iranian resolutions with the support of a number of regional countries.” Zarif added, “A lesson must be learned from the past, look now where Tariq Aziz is.”

Aziz, who was the public and international face of Iraq under Saddam, surrendered to American forces after the 2003 invasion. He was sentenced to death in 2010 and died of a heart attack in an Iraqi prison in 2015. Continuing with the theme of the Iran-Iraq War, Zarif also said that Iran has always tried to pursue positive relations with OIC members, even while “some countries supported Saddam Hussein and his war against Iran and were partners with Saddam in his crimes against Iran.”