Rouhani said America’s economic terrorism was specifically evident through Washington’s decision to withdraw from a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran and restore sanctions that the same deal had lifted against the country.
Speaking at the second conference of parliament speakers from Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey on challenges of terrorism and inter-regional connectivity in Tehran on Saturday, Hassan Rouhani said, “we, the children of great civilisations, are subject to a full-scale assault that not only poses a threat to our identity and independence, but also tries to break our long-standing bonds."
“A country that has started a trade war with China, uses sarcastic tones with Pakistan, humiliates Afghanistan, punishes Turkey, threatens Russia and imposes sanctions against Iran, is the prime suspect for breaking the bonds,” added Rouhani.
He also noted that “if the US thinks that it can break us apart, it is gravely mistaken, and we are here to say it out loud that we will not tolerate this insolence, and we will stand against them."
“We do not expect the one who bows to walls to respect bridges,” he said, adding “we do not expect such an irresponsible person to take on another responsibility. The person who has humiliated civilisations cannot be expected to be the guardian of the common grounds of civilisation."
President also said, “where the United States contributes to the annihilation of societies, we will not let it escape its expenses and destruction."
President Hassan Rouhani’s speech is as follows:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Dear Esteemed Speakers of Parliaments;
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
It is an honour to be attending the conference of speakers of parliaments of Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey. I deem it necessary to appreciate the Pakistani parliament and parliament speaker for their 1-year tenure as the chair of the conference. I would also like to congratulate Speaker of the Parliament of Iran Dr Larijani, who has taken over the chair of this conference.
Our world today is dealing with complicated challenges, including weather changes, economic crises, underdevelopment, aggression and war, poverty and famine, unilateralism, extremism, and terrorism. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I would like to express some points regarding the challenges of the human society: terrorism, extremism and unilateralism.
As the biggest victim of terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been facing this terrorism since its establishment, suffering from heavy human and financial losses. Terrorist actions such as the martyrdom of 72 officials in a bombing in 1981 and the martyrdom of the then President and Prime Minister by the terrorist in the same year and martyrdom of over 17000 civilians in the past 40 years by terrorist groups which are under the support of Europe and the Unites States and Western governments, the martyrdom of nuclear scientists at the beginning of the current decade, last year’s terrorist attack to the parliament by the ISIL, and the recent terrorist attacks in Ahwaz City and Chabahar two days go, have not undermined the resolve of the Iranian government and nation for fighting all sorts of terrorism.
Today, security has more dimensions than the past. It includes areas such as economy, culture, politics, society and psychological domains, undermining of each can be described as terrorism.
The cruel, illegal economic sanctions of the United States against the noble people of Iran has targeted our people as a clear example of terrorism. Economic terrorism means promoting terror about the economy of a country and intimidating other countries to prevent them from doing trade and invest in the target country.
The withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and re-imposition of sanctions, and their measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its trade partners is the clear example of economic terrorism.
Dear Speakers of Parliaments,
Our region is at a critical juncture in history today. The juncture at which global terrorist, extremists and lawbreakers are seeking to start a whirlpool made of terrorism, poverty, sanction, crisis, assassination and coup, from Pakistan to Iran, from Afghanistan to Russia and from China to Turkey. They do not want us to gather, talk, sit together and be sympathetic and empathetic; but they need to know that we are determine to join hands in overcoming this common enemy; but what this victory requires is that we should all have a responsibility in drying out the roots of violence. Our success requires continuous and tireless resolve in finding the roots of degeneration and collective effort for drying out these roots. Poverty, corruption and inequality are among the most important root causes of terrorist violence in this region.
It is in an underdeveloped atmosphere where different kinds of crime, smuggling, money laundering and terrorism joint together and destroy human security in societies. The voice of the peoples of the region is being heard clearly, who say, “War and bloodshed is enough; displacement, poverty, famine, putting up walls, killing neighbours, hatred and grudge, backwardness and discrimination, boycott and humiliation are enough. Women and girls have had enough of slavery and deprivation of education and employment. Children are sick and tired of being displaced and not having something to wear; cities and villages do not want to tolerate explosion and fire and destruction anymore”.
Dear Guests,
Political and military interference do not let societies follow their natural growth process and find their own solutions to confronting discords and problems. Those who interfere, sow the seeds of discord and hatred to harvest rancour and violence. We need to think about how we can stop those who are willingly spending billions of dollars of oil incomes for deepening discords and proliferating intolerance; we need to stand up to those who interfere and bully to leave terror and assassination unsupported.
Today, it is coordination and cooperation that create security. To confront the common threats that do not recognise any boundary and territory, we need to take a new approach towards boundary and territory. We need to have more flexible governances that are more compatible with fair division of labour against our common threats.
If we want to put an end to the flow of refugees, we need to harness violence and war. If we wish to defeat terrorism, we need to fight dirty money, and to wage such a war, we need to support each other’s effectiveness of governance until a point that no room is left for evil.
Dear Participants;
We have come together here to remind ourselves and others that our peoples of governments are united. We have been together since ancient times; our cultures have created a shared civilisation by a lively, dynamic deal with each other; a civilisation that has spread from the great China to the vast Anatolia, from the wide Russia to the Iranian Plateau, and has been borne a gigantic mission in its Asian civilisation.
We are the children of great civilisations that is calling on us to protect and improve it. Let me say this straight: We are subject to a full-scale assault that not only poses a threat to our identity and independence, but also is determined to break our long-standing bonds.
The country that has started a trade war with China, uses sarcastic tones with Pakistan, humiliates Afghanistan, punishes Turkey, threatens Russia and imposes sanctions against Iran, is the prime suspect for breaking the bonds. If the US thinks that it can break us apart, it is gravely mistaken. When they put China’s trade under pressure, we all suffer losses; when the use sarcastic tones against Pakistan, we all take that insult serious; humiliation of Afghanistan means belittling us all; when Turkey is punished, we are all being punished; whenever they threaten Russia, we all see our security threatened; when the boycott Iran, they deprive all of us of the advantages of international trade, energy security and sustainable development, which means that they have boycotted everyone. We are here to say it out loud that we will not tolerate this insolence, and we will stand against them. We will stand up to them by promoting our cooperation and deepen our economic, social, cultural and security bonds.
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