Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has warned that terrorism poses a big threat to all countries across the world, saying collective resolve is needed to combat the scourge.
“Terrorism is in nobody's interest and those who are supporting terrorist groups should know that all terrorist groups are detrimental to humanity,” Rouhani said in his address to Iran-Italy high-level meeting attended by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Tehran on Tuesday.
He added that the killing of any human being of whatever nationality and in any part of the world would be "tragic".
Reiterating the need for unity in fight against terrorism and extremism in the world, Rouhani expressed Iran’s readiness to cooperate with all countries to implement a 2013 UN resolution adopted based on his proposal for a World Against Violence and Extremism (WAVE).
In December 2013, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to approve President Rouhani’s WAVE proposal, which called on all nations across the globe to denounce violence and extremism.
The Iranian president had made the proposal in his address to the UN Disarmament Conference in New York on September 25, 2013.
The Iranian president further expressed regret that terrorism is used by some people to tarnish the image of Islam and Muslims.
The false attribution of terrorism to Islam and confrontation with Muslims in the world would be tantamount to a huge social rift which would never be healed, he said.
He, however, emphasized that all divine religions oppose terrorism in all its forms and pursue establishment of peace.
Rouhani stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation between Tehran and Rome at regional and international levels and said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always played an active role in solving regional problems and regards the use of political solutions as the best approach for resolving problems.”
Necessity of Iran’s role to boost peace
The Italian premier, for his part, said Iran is the most stable country in the region and added that it would be impossible to establish regional peace and stability without Tehran’s contribution.
Renzi stressed the significance of fighting terrorism and extremism and avoiding the spread of anti-Islam campaign.
The Italian prime minister arrived in Tehran early Tuesday at the head of a 250-strong political and economic delegation, making him the first major Western leader to travel to Iran after the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The trip comes three months after President Rouhani paid a visit to Italy, the Vatican and France in an important bid to rebuild relations with Europe after Iran and the P5+1 group of countries started to implement a nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), they reached on July 14, 2015.
After Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany started to implement the JCPOA on January 16, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Tehran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US were lifted. Iran has, in return, put some limitations on its nuclear activities.
During President Rouhani’s visit to Rome in January, Iran and Italy signed contracts worth up to 17 billion euros (USD 18.4 billion).