UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Iran President Hassan Rouhani yesterday blamed the rise of the Islamic State group and other militants on the mistakes of the West and said the solution to stopping them must come from the Middle East.
“The strategic blunders of the West in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus have turned these parts of the world into a haven for terrorists and extremists,” he said in a speech to the 193-member United Nations General Assembly.
In a thinly veiled reference to the United States and Israel, Rouhani blamed the rise of violent extremists on outsiders. “Certain intelligence agencies have put blades in the hand of madmen, who now spare no one,” he said.
The comments were among the strongest yet by predominantly Shi’ite Iran on the rise of the Sunni militant group, suggesting Washington and its allies were the problem, not the solution, and that Middle Eastern governments should deal with the threat.
“The right solution to this quandary comes from within the region and regionally provided solutions with international support and not from the outside the region,” he said.
