An Iranian lawmaker said the recent abduction of Iranian pilgrims by insurgents in Syria is to put pressure on Tehran in a bid to undercut the Islamic republic's support for the Syrian government, Press TV reported Thursday.

A total of 48 Iranian pilgrims were abducted Saturday by militants in the Syrian capital Damascus.

"Syrian insurgents are organized military forces supported by the United States, European Union and countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, thus, the abduction of the Iranian pilgrims in Syria has been carried out by them," Ebrahim Aqa-Mohammadi, a member of the Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, was quoted as saying.

"The aim of the abduction of the Iranian pilgrims is to put pressure on Iran and to allege that the Islamic republic interferes in Syria, so that they will be able to gradually diminish Iran's moral support of the legitimate Syrian government, " said Aqa-Mohammadi.

He added that Western countries accuse Iran of interfering in Syria to overshadow their support to Syrian insurgents, said the report.

An international consultative meeting on Syria will start in Tehran on Thursday with the slogan of "Stop Violence, National Dialogue," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian was quoted as saying by the state IRIB TV on Thursday.

The consultative meeting will be attended by representatives of more than 20 countries, Amir Abdollahian told IRIB.

Syria has been wrecked by bombings and violence since March 2011.