Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Related Articles
New York, SANA- Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Monday called for not allowing the interference in other countries’ affairs under the pretext of combating terrorism, proposing to create a “united front” against extremism and terrorism in the Middle East according to a binding international document at the UN.
“Iraq, Syria and Yemen are all examples of crises being stoked through terror, extremism, violence, bloodshed, invasion and the indifference of the international community. They are similar examples displaying cases of displacement, homelessness and fleeing from the horrors of war and bombardment,” Rouhani said in a speech during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Rouhani invited all countries of the region to from a joint comprehensive plan of action to create a “United Front against Extremism and Violence”.
He held the US responsible for the growth of the phenomenon of terrorism and extremism due to its “military invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and its unwarranted support for the inhumane actions of the Zionist entity against the oppressed Palestinian people.”
“We must not forget that the roots of today’s wars, destruction and terror, can be found in the occupation, invasion and military intervention of yesterday,” Rouhani affirmed.
He slammed the US policies, saying “It is imperative that the United States abandons its practice of reversing facts in the region and leveling baseless accusations against others and put an end to its dangerous policies and that of its regional allies that has exacerbated extremism and sectarianism in the region.”
President Rouhani added that “The US should move in the direction of the hopes and aspirations of the people of the region,” warning against the spread of the terrorist organizations in the region.
He called for uprooting terrorism through targeting its underlying social, economic and cultural causes, stressing the necessity of cooperation between the countries of the region in the economic domains to reach a political understanding.
Rouhani described the UN decision to lift the sanctions imposed on Iran a “right decision,” saying “The sanctions imposed by the Security Council and the unilateral sanctions against Iran were based on illusive and baseless allegations and created difficult conditions for our people…. The United States finally was compelled to forgo its policy of pressure and sanction and opt for the negotiating table along with the European states,”
Rouhani lashed out at the Saudi government for its mishandling of the Hajj ceremony, telling the UN General Assembly that the “Mina” disaster was a result of Riyadh’s incompetence and mismanagement.
“The scope of a calamity in which thousands of innocent people from the four corners of the world have been killed and wounded is so broad that it cannot be dealt with as a natural disaster or a local issue,” Rouhani said.
He added “The Public opinion demands that Saudi Arabian officials promptly fulfill their international obligations and grant immediate consular access for the expeditious identification and return of the cherished bodies. Moreover, it is necessary that the conditions are prepared for an independent and precise investigation into the causes of this disaster and ways of preventing its repetition in the future.”
Earlier, Head of Iran’s Hajj Organization, Said Ohadi had declared that the death toll of the Iranian pilgrims in the stampede in Mina reached 226 and the number of the missing reached 248.
R.J/ Barry
