Source: UK Guardian

Iran’s policy is to continue its peace-seeking efforts in the region, Rouhani says. He says the turmoil gripping the Middle East can spread to other parts of the world. The biggest threat is terrorist organisations becoming terrorist states, he says.

The fight against terrorism should be incorporated into a binding international document. Iran is ready to assist in tackling terrorism and to bring about democracy in Syria and Yemen, via elections rather than arms, he says.

I say to all nations and governments we will not forget the past but we don’t wish to live in the past. We will not forget imposed war and sanctions but look to peace and development.

Under pressure from home critics to cut short his UN visit and return to Tehran in the face of growing Iranian deaths in Mina stampede,Hassan Rouhani started his speech at the UN general assembly with remembering the Iranian victims, criticising Saudi Arabia and urging an investigation into the tragedy.

It emerged on Monday that the latest Iranian death toll stands at 228 while as many as 248 people are still missing, according to local media. This is significantly higher than previously thought. “Many who had come together in the spiritual gathering hajj unfortunately fell victims to incompetence and mismanagement of those in charge,” he said, adding that Saudi “unaccountability” has prevented identifying the missing people and the return of dead bodied to Iran.

“Public opinion demands that Saudi Arabian officials promptly fulfill their international obligations and grant immediate consular access,” he said, referring to the difficulties Iranian officials have faced in order to obtain Saudi visa to travel to Mecca to deal with the crisis. “It is necessary to prepare for an independent and precise investigation into causes of this disaster and ways to prevent its repetition in the future.”

Rouhani a large part of his speech to mention the landmark Iranian nuclear deal struck in Vienna in July and lay out its consequences for Iran and the west. His strongest line was “we won’t forget the past but we do not want to live in the past.” He was referring to the international sanctions that in his opinion and in the view of many Iranians unjustly punished his countrymen for some years. “Today a new chapter has started in Iran’s relations with the world”, Rouhani said, emphasising that the Iranian people chose the path of “hope and moderation” two years ago by electing him to office in Iran, a country he described as a “religious democracy”.

The Iranian president lashed out at Israel a couple of times, saying “the zionist regime” was the only impediment towards securing the nuclear agreement. He later criticised the US for extending an unwavering support for Tel Aviv and ignoring the plight of what he described as “oppressed Palestinians”. He said the US was pursuing “baseless accusations and pursuing other dangerous policies” in defence of its regional allies cultivating extremism, presumably referring to Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Rouhani urged the world to form a “united front” against extremism and violence and said the biggest threat facing the world is for the terrorist organisations to become a terrorist state, referring to the Islamic state (Isis).

“We are prepared to assist in eradication of terrorism. We are prepared to help bring democracy to Syria, Yemen,” he said. Iran wants peace in the region based on win-win situation, he said.

Rouhani said Iran wants to become a business hub in the region. Iranian business leaders says that the Rouhani administration want them to act swiftly.

“Our authorities insist that the work of our diplomacy and economic apparatus is almost finished so they want our economic sector and private companies to steer the wheel now and benefit from the situation,” Ali Sanginian, CEO at Amin Investment bank, an asset management group, told the Guardian. “We were hurt a lot under sanctions and we were almost standing on the edge but people in Iran want to feel the benefits of sanctions relief in their daily life as soon as possible.”

Rouhani says other state actors sometimes pursue “maximalist demands”. He says – echoing China’s president Xi Jinping – that win win solutions should govern international affairs.

The president complains about sanctions imposed on Iran but says, quoting an Iranian proverb, that the “harm has now stopped”. He says that Iran never had the intention of producing a nuclear weapon and says that sanctions were based on an “illusive” premise.

Now, the US has set aside sanctions and returned to negotiations. The agreement signed in July should be implemented by all parties, he says. Nuclear weapons states play a positive role in the creation of a nuclear weapons-free Middle East – and should “not allow the Zionist regime” to remain the only impediment.

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