The region and the world owe those who fought terrorists in Syria and Iraq, as they fought for regional security and stability, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday.
'Terrorism is not a threat only to the region, rather it is a menace to the entire world, including the US and Europe,' President Rouhani said in a speech at the opening ceremony of the 31st International Islamic Unity Conference that started in Tehran this morning.
'Therefore, all those who support global security and stability, should be grateful to the fighters at the forefronts of fight against terrorism.'
31st International Islamic Unity Conference which is being held with the attendance of 500 foreign and domestic participants continues until Dec 7. The Unity Requirements of Modern Islamic Civilization is the main theme of the conference.
However, the Syrian and Iraqi governments and all those who supported anti-terrorism efforts are being weakened instead of being appreciated for what they did, according to President Rouhani.
'A major part of the big plot that was hatched by the global powers, arrogance and Zionism against the nations in the region, has been neutralized, and the main pillars of terrorism in the region have been demolished' he said.
'The attempts by Muslims against terrorism, however, will continue until eradicating all elements and its offspring in the region,' he said.
'Syria will be rescued from terrorism sooner or later, and it will expel the foreign forces from its soil,' he said.
'The Iraqi nation will be more united than ever in the future,' the Iranian president said in his speech.
'Kurds, Shias and Sunnis will remain beside each other in Iraq, and they will make their country developed and proud' he foresaw of the future of Iraq.
'Yemen will be rescued from the aggressors' hands; its resilient, self-giving people will make the aggressors regret their acts,' President Rouhani said.
'But how will the lost opportunities be compensated for?' asked the president.
'We know that eight years of war in Iran requires several decades for reconstruction; we know that sanctions plot requires several years to be compensated for,' he said.
The main damage the big powers and Zionism inflicted on Syria, apart from killing people and destroying their country, was that they burned the opportunities and did not allow Syria to flourish and become the developed country it aimed, the Iranian president said.
'It is some 40 years that Iraq has been struggling,' he said, naming Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hossein's war on Iran and Kuwait, and the US invasion of Iraq as examples of the country's sufferings.
'The Zionists, the Americans and the Global Arrogance should be accountable in this regard,' President Rouhani said.
(IRNA)
