Under pressure from home critics to cut short his UN visit and return to Tehran in the face of a growing number of Iranian deaths in the hajj crush, 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 – 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,” Rouhani said, adding that Saudi “unaccountability” has prevented identifying the missing people and the return of dead bodies 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 trying to obtain Saudi visas 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 used a large part of his speech to focus on the landmark Iranian nuclear deal struck in Vienna in July and lay out its consequences for Iran and the west, saying “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 that of many Iranians, unjustly punished the country 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”.
Rouhani attacked Israel a couple of times, saying “the Zionist regime” was the only impediment to securing the nuclear agreement. He later criticised the US for extending 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 if terrorist organisations become a terrorist state, referring to the Islamic State.
“We are prepared to assist in eradication of terrorism. We are prepared to help bring democracy to Syria, Yemen,” he said, adding that Iran wants peace in the region and it would be a win-win situation. He added that Iran wants to become a business hub in the region and Iranian business leaders say that the Rouhani administration wants 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.”
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 – 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,” Rouhani said, adding that Saudi “unaccountability” has prevented identifying the missing people and the return of dead bodies 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 trying to obtain Saudi visas 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 used a large part of his speech to focus on the landmark Iranian nuclear deal struck in Vienna in July and lay out its consequences for Iran and the west, saying “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 that of many Iranians, unjustly punished the country 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”.
Rouhani attacked Israel a couple of times, saying “the Zionist regime” was the only impediment to securing the nuclear agreement. He later criticised the US for extending 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 if terrorist organisations become a terrorist state, referring to the Islamic State.
“We are prepared to assist in eradication of terrorism. We are prepared to help bring democracy to Syria, Yemen,” he said, adding that Iran wants peace in the region and it would be a win-win situation. He added that Iran wants to become a business hub in the region and Iranian business leaders say that the Rouhani administration wants 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.”
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