TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed foreign powers for upsetting the Middle East’s security by interfering in the region and seeking to maximize the sale of arms. Addressing a cabinet session on Wednesday, President Rouhani criticized certain regional countries for relying on foreign powers, such as the US and Britain, and for their notion […]
TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed foreign powers for upsetting the Middle East’s security by interfering in the region and seeking to maximize the sale of arms.
Addressing a cabinet session on Wednesday, President Rouhani criticized certain regional countries for relying on foreign powers, such as the US and Britain, and for their notion that big powers could establish security in the Middle East.
It is now clear that the presence of foreign powers has not done the region any good, he added.
By getting involved in the Middle East, foreign powers only seek to market and sell their arms, prepare the ground for interference in the regional market, and play with oil prices to pursue their own objectives, the president warned, saying foreign presence in the region has only caused troubles.
Decrying trans-regional powers for waging wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, Rouhani also hammered Saudi Arabia for committing crimes against the defenseless Muslim people of Yemen.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its allies have launched a military campaign against Yemen to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
More than 14,000 people have been killed and millions have been forced from their homes as a result of the attacks, while the country is also facing severe famine and a deadly cholera outbreak.
