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Iraq and Syria crisis: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani warns UN that terrorists want to 'destroy civilisation and spark Islamaphobia' Iraq and Syria crisis: Iran's President Rouhani accuses West of turning Middle East into 'haven for terrorists'
(35 minutes later)
Iran's president warned world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Thursday that the goal of extremists creating chaos in the Midlle East is the destruction of civilization and the rise of Islamophobia. President Hassan Rouhani delivered a searing indictment of western governments in a speech in New York saying they were responsible for sowing the seeds of the outbreak of extremism that has brought turmoil to the Middle East and demanded that they “acknowledge their errors” and apologise.
In a wide-ranging speech, President Rouhani told members that extremist Islamic terrorists want to create a "fertile ground for further intervention of foreign forces in our region." “Certain intelligence agencies have put blades in the hand of madmen, who now spare no one,” Mr. Rouhani told the United Nations General Assembly. “Currently our peoples are paying the price. Today’s anti-Westernism is the offspring of yesterday's colonialism. Today's anti-Westemism is a reaction to yesterday’s racism.”
He said the extremists come to the Middle East from around the world with a single ideology, “violence and extremism". “The strategic blunders of the West in the Middle-East, Central Asia, and the Caucuses have turned these parts of the world into a haven for terrorists and extremists,’ President Rouhani declared. “Military aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq and improper interference in the developments in Syria are clear examples of this erroneous strategic approach in the Middle East.”
He added that terrorism had become globalised doubted the world was united against the threat, saying all countries that supported them must apologise, not only to the "past generation but to the next generation." The Iranian leader, who had a first historic meeting with David Cameron in New York earlier this week, openly suggested that flexibility by the West in the ongoing talks on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and a deal before a deadline set for November would open the way to Iran cooperating more fully in trying to confront the threat raised by the extremist groups.  He made direct reference in the speech to both al-Qa’ida and Daesh, the Arab name for Isis.
He went on to blame the rise of violent extremism on "certain states" and on unidentified "intelligence agencies", adding that it was up to Middle Eastern powers to find a solution to the problem. If a nuclear agreement is struck, he said, “then an entirely different environment will emerge for cooperation at regional and international levels, allowing for greater focus on some very important regional issues such as combating violence and extremism in the region.”
"Certain intelligence agencies have put blades in the hand of madmen, who now spare no one," Rouhani told the United Nations General Assembly. "The right solution to this quandary comes from within the region and regionally provided solution with international support and not from the outside the region," he said. But he also voiced disdain for those groups. “They also have a single goal: “the destruction of civilization, giving rise to Islamophobia and creating a fertile ground for further intervention of foreign forces in our region,” he said, insisting that its leaders were not followers of Islam and scolding the western media for repeatedly describing them so. “I am struck that these murderous groups call themselves Islamic,” he said.
Regarding Iran's controversial nuclear programme, Mr Rouhani said an agreement with the West is possible before a November deadline, if leaders want a deal and shows flexibility.
He said Tehran is determined to continue its confidence-building approach and transparency in the negotiations.
Mr Rouhani added that an agreement would create a new environment "for co-operation at regional and international levels, allowing for greater focus on some very important regional issues such as combating violence and extremism in the region".
He said it would also be "a historic opportunity" for the West to show it does not ignore an international treaty that allows Iran to have a peaceful nuclear programme to produce energy.