Iran’s President Rouhani wants global role after nuclear deal
Oren Dorell, USA TODAY
UNITED NATIONS — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday praised the recent Iran nuclear deal as a model for solving future international conflicts, including a global confrontation against extremism.
The nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran was “the first time (that) two sides, rather than negotiating peace after war, engaged in a dialogue of understanding before the eruption of conflict,” Rouhani said during his speech before the United Nations General Assembly.
The accord “should herald a new era” and be the basis for change in the region, he said.
The five countries that form the permanent U.N. Security Council — the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China — and Germany negotiated the deal with Iran.
The agreement includes eventual relief of sanctions that were imposed on Iran for violating the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Lifting the sanctions could pave the way for oil-rich Iran to become an export hub in the Middle East, said Rouhani, who was elected on a platform of economic development and integration with the world community.
“We want to suggest a new constructive way to base international order,” Rouhani said. “Peace alongside development lets anger and resentment dissipate. The only way to uproot terrorism in the Middle East is to undermine its economic and social causes.”
Rouhani said Iran will demonstrate how the nuclear agreement reached through diplomacy can produce economic development.
Iran, however, is the world’s foremost state-sponsor of terrorism, according to the U.S. State Department. The department lists Iran’s support for the murderous regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Iran also supports Shiite militias in Iraq that are fighting Islamic State militants alongside U.S.-backed and U.S.-trained Iraqi and Kurdish government forces in that country.
Iran’s human rights record is also cause for concern, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, which said the country’s 753 executions last year are more numerous than almost anywhere else in the world.
In his speech Monday, Rouhani offered to lead a global effort based on how the nuclear deal was reached to fight ignorance, poverty, terrorism and violence.
“I would like to invite the whole world to form a (joint effort) to create a united front against extremism and violence,” he said.
Rouhani said the U.S. approach, which he characterized as the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and support for “the Zionist regime” — Israel — gives terrorists “justification for their actions.”
He said the way to tackle regional conflict is through dialogue and cooperation with the central governments to establish stability — and then build democratic governance in the Middle East region.
A key factor in the Iran nuclear deal was the willingness to find a middle ground that benefited all sides at the bargaining table, Rouhani said.
“The interest of both parties should be taken into account … and win-win solutions should be the basis for agreement,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment