Iran was holding a two-day conference Tuesday with the aim of seeking the roots of terrorism and distinguishing between Islamic groups fighting for freedom and Islamists involved in terrorism.

There were 46 scholars from 20 countries, including the Islamic
world, Europe and the United States in attendance at the conference,
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entitled Islamic World - Victim of Terrorism, organized by the Iranian government in cooperation with the government's Islamic Propaganda Office.

The main aim of the conference is to seek roots of terrorism,
neutralizing Western propaganda on exposing Muslims as terrorists and
distinguishing legitimate defense by Islamic groups from terror by
Islamists.

Also on the agenda is what the conference calls U.S. "efforts to
exploit the September 11 incident as pretext for expanding its
hegemonic aims."

The conference secretary, Ayatollah Taskhiri, accused the U.S. of
having used terrorism as an excuse to confront "Islamic awakening" and invade Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Ayatollah said resistance by Islamic nations and especially young Muslims would be the best method to confront global prejudice against Muslims as potential terrorists in general and U.S. conspiracies in the Islamic world in particular.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend the conference later Tuesday and hold a speech on terrorism.

Iran is accused by the US of supporting international terrorism, but categorically denying the charges, Tehran has constantly said its
support was purely spiritual. It says it only supports militia groups
such as Hamas in the Palestinian Authority and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which according
to Iran, were only fighting for liberation of their lands from
Israeli occupation.

Tehran has always condemned operations by the terrorist network al-Qaeda and even came close to a war with the Afghan group Taliban following an attack by Taliban forces against the Iranian consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif in August 1998, in which nine Iranian diplomats were killed.

The United Nations eventually calmed down tensions and prevented a
widespread military conflict.