RABAT, August 21. /TASS/. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has called for refusing from the use of US dollars in trade as an outdated method of payments.

"The era of the United States’ global hegemony is over but we have not fully taken advantage of this and continue using outdated methods in trade," he said at an economic forum in Baghdad. He called for "refusing from the dependence on the US dollar and use local currencies in settlements and trade."

According to Ghalibaf the Middle East has a "special geopolitical significance." "The corridor from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean, which runs across the countries of the 'axis of resistance,' is the heart of the geopolitical landscape and a key component of power and independence," he stressed.

According to Iran, the so-called "axis of resistance" includes the Ansar Allah (Houthi) rebel movement in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Shiite militias in Iraq.