"Iran is an influential power in the region and the world and the world should know that this power has always served peace, stability, brotherhood and justice," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech to mark the event.

Ahmadinejad called for the US-led occupation forces' pullout of neighbouring Iraq, which fought a bloody war with Iran from 1980 to 1988.

"The presence of illegitimate forces in the region is the cause of all threats and differences. Their pullout would benefit themselves, the region and stable security."

Iran is accused by the United States of inciting violence and arming insurgents in Iraq. It is also under international pressure to stop controversial nuclear work, which is feared to cover an atomic weapons drive.

The United States and its ally Israel have never ruled out using military strikes to punish Iran for its defiance in the nuclear standoff.

At the beginning of the parade three "Saegheh" planes, Iran's new fighter jet, were flown and Tehran has vowed to show off more home-grown weapons during the week-long ceremony that marks the "sacred defence".

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