Senior Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard says the 1979 Islamic Revolution helped Iran find its real place in the region and Asia.

Senior Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard says the 1979 Islamic Revolution helped Iran find its real place in the region and Asia.

“Before the victory of the revolution, the US and Western states believed that they dominated political and security issues of other countries,” the vice speaker of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) said on Thursday.

Aboutorabi-Fard added that before the 1979 revolution, the West controlled the destiny of other countries, and “promoted [military] assault on Muslim nations,” Mehr News Agency reported.

“The Revolution gave other countries and Muslim nations an identity and the spirit to resist these superpowers,” the Iranian lawmaker said, adding that today these Islamic states are able to defend their ideals and interests.

Egypt and Tunisia have been the scene of popular revolutions over the past month.

The Egyptian revolution entered its 17th consecutive day on Thursday, as millions of people joined forces with opposition groups to demand for the immediate ouster of embattled President Hosni Mubarak.

Opposition Muslim Brotherhood cited presidential sources as saying on Thursday that Mubarak has left Egypt.

Since the start of the protests in troubled Egypt on January 25, which was inspired by Tunisia's revolution, more than 300 people have lost their lives and thousands more sustained injuries during pro-democracy demonstrations.

In Tunisia, at least 147 people were killed and 510 injured during the revolution that led to the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 23-year rule.

On January 14, Ben Ali fled the North African country to the Saudi port city of Jeddah.