TEHRAN -- President Hassan Rouhani headed for New York on Monday to attend the UN General Assembly on a mission to win support for Iran against "cruel" pressure from the United States.
Before departing, Rouhani said his delegation was heading to the UN gathering despite Washington's reluctance to issue them U.S. visas.
Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads since May last year when President Donald Trump abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal and subsequently began reimposing sanctions on Iran in a stated campaign of "maximum pressure".
"It is essential for us to take part in the UN General Assembly and talk at various levels," Rouhani said at Tehran's Mehrabad airport.
"The cruel actions that have been taken against the Iranian nation and also the difficult and complicated issues that our region faces with them need to be explained."
Rouhani also said Iran would put forward a Persian Gulf peace plan at the UN meeting.
Under the plan dubbed the Hormuz Peace Endeavour, or HOPE, he said, "all the coastal states of the Persian Gulf are invited to join this coalition to provide and maintain regional security".
The peace initiative, he said, is aimed at establishing long-term peace in the Persian Gulf, something he said is simply not achievable as long as outsiders are present.
"Of course, the plan that will be laid out at the United Nations won't be just about security, but rather economy and other issues, all in line with security matters."
The HOPE initiative comes against the backdrop of tensions in the Persian Gulf, where several tankers and commercial vessels have come under suspicious attacks by unknown parties while attempting to cross the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The United States has blamed the sabotage attacks on Iran, using them as a pretext to build a coalition that would patrol the region.
The U.S. is trying to project the mission as a bid to secure the Persian Gulf, but "the Europeans argue that Washington created the problem in the first place by trying to kill off Iran’s oil exports", the New York Times wrote last month.
Iran has dismissed the allegations and called the attacks false flag operations, warning regional neighbors to watch out for plots by outsiders to destabilize the region.
Rouhani echoed that stance on Monday, saying any solution to calm tensions must come from within the region and what he called a "coalition of hope."
"We believe the solution for the region comes from inside the region and those who come from the outside can never bring peace and security," he said.
Citing America's military interventions in the Middle East as an example, Rouhani said since entering the region in 2001, the United States has failed to bring back calm to any of the countries that it has deployed forces to.
"I hope we can roll out this plan and tell the world that Iran is looking for lasting peace in the region and is willing to" discuss it with other countries with the UN involved in the process, he said of his HOPE initiative.
Rouhani also pointed to the September 14 attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities by Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement and the biased reactions that it received from Riyadh's close allies, specially the United States.
The damage from the retaliatory Yemeni attack was so vast that the kingdom lost more than half of its oil output overnight, causing global oil prices to jump.
American officials, along with their Saudi allies, have since pointed the finger at Iran without any evidence even though the Houthis have on several occasions claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it is only one of their many such strikes in retaliation for the Saudi-led war.
"The Aramco (attack) is the outcome of the aggression that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Zionist regime have been leading against Yemen," Rouhani said.
"If they (the Saudis) don't initiate aggression, they (the Yemenis) won't hit back and when they do and see the response, it is hard for them to swallow" the retaliation, the Iranian president continued. "Their cruelty is justified in their own eyes."
Rouhani said this year's General Assembly was significant as it came at a time when the U.S. has hit the rock bottom against Iran after the failure of its so-called "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions.
"We are headed to the UN while the Americans have pushed their sanctions campaign so far that they admit there is nothing left for them to sanction," the president said, noting that the failures had put Washington in a state of "absolute desperation" against Iran.
Rouhani flew to New York on Monday morning. He will deliver a speech at the 74th UN General Assembly later on Wednesday and meet with a host of foreign leaders and Iranians living in the U.S. before heading back on Thursday evening.
Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads since May last year when President Donald Trump abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal and subsequently began reimposing sanctions on Iran in a stated campaign of "maximum pressure".
"It is essential for us to take part in the UN General Assembly and talk at various levels," Rouhani said at Tehran's Mehrabad airport.
"The cruel actions that have been taken against the Iranian nation and also the difficult and complicated issues that our region faces with them need to be explained."
Rouhani also said Iran would put forward a Persian Gulf peace plan at the UN meeting.
Under the plan dubbed the Hormuz Peace Endeavour, or HOPE, he said, "all the coastal states of the Persian Gulf are invited to join this coalition to provide and maintain regional security".
The peace initiative, he said, is aimed at establishing long-term peace in the Persian Gulf, something he said is simply not achievable as long as outsiders are present.
"Of course, the plan that will be laid out at the United Nations won't be just about security, but rather economy and other issues, all in line with security matters."
The HOPE initiative comes against the backdrop of tensions in the Persian Gulf, where several tankers and commercial vessels have come under suspicious attacks by unknown parties while attempting to cross the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The United States has blamed the sabotage attacks on Iran, using them as a pretext to build a coalition that would patrol the region.
The U.S. is trying to project the mission as a bid to secure the Persian Gulf, but "the Europeans argue that Washington created the problem in the first place by trying to kill off Iran’s oil exports", the New York Times wrote last month.
Iran has dismissed the allegations and called the attacks false flag operations, warning regional neighbors to watch out for plots by outsiders to destabilize the region.
Rouhani echoed that stance on Monday, saying any solution to calm tensions must come from within the region and what he called a "coalition of hope."
"We believe the solution for the region comes from inside the region and those who come from the outside can never bring peace and security," he said.
Citing America's military interventions in the Middle East as an example, Rouhani said since entering the region in 2001, the United States has failed to bring back calm to any of the countries that it has deployed forces to.
"I hope we can roll out this plan and tell the world that Iran is looking for lasting peace in the region and is willing to" discuss it with other countries with the UN involved in the process, he said of his HOPE initiative.
Rouhani also pointed to the September 14 attack on Saudi Arabia's oil facilities by Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement and the biased reactions that it received from Riyadh's close allies, specially the United States.
The damage from the retaliatory Yemeni attack was so vast that the kingdom lost more than half of its oil output overnight, causing global oil prices to jump.
American officials, along with their Saudi allies, have since pointed the finger at Iran without any evidence even though the Houthis have on several occasions claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it is only one of their many such strikes in retaliation for the Saudi-led war.
"The Aramco (attack) is the outcome of the aggression that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Zionist regime have been leading against Yemen," Rouhani said.
"If they (the Saudis) don't initiate aggression, they (the Yemenis) won't hit back and when they do and see the response, it is hard for them to swallow" the retaliation, the Iranian president continued. "Their cruelty is justified in their own eyes."
Rouhani said this year's General Assembly was significant as it came at a time when the U.S. has hit the rock bottom against Iran after the failure of its so-called "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions.
"We are headed to the UN while the Americans have pushed their sanctions campaign so far that they admit there is nothing left for them to sanction," the president said, noting that the failures had put Washington in a state of "absolute desperation" against Iran.
Rouhani flew to New York on Monday morning. He will deliver a speech at the 74th UN General Assembly later on Wednesday and meet with a host of foreign leaders and Iranians living in the U.S. before heading back on Thursday evening.
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