FULL TEXT: Iran's Hassan Rohani's address to UN General Assembly
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Iranian President Hassan Rohani arrives to address the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 20, 2017.
Jason DeCrow/AP
The full transcript of Iranian President Hassan Rohani's speech to the UN General Assembly:
Mr.
Secretary General, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I wish at the
outset to congratulate you on your election to the presidency of the
General Assembly and secretary general Guterres’ election to this high
office and wish him every success in his crucial responsibilities. Four
months ago, over 41 million people constituting 73 percent of Iran’s
total eligible voters came to the polls in the country’s 12th
presidential election and once again expressed confidence in my
platform, which calls for moderation in respect for human rights and
prosperity and economic revitalization at home and constructive
engagement around the world.
Their
vote manifested the maturity of the electorate in a society that has
experienced free and democratic governance for only four decades. This
was not merely a vote for a president but a huge political investment by
our population, a resilient people who truly constitute our most
reliable asset.
Human
and citizens’ rights along with the quest for justice and Islamic
values have constituted the most pivotal demands of the Iranian people
in over 150 years of struggle and particularly in the Islamic revolution
of 1979. In its first term, while pursuing nuclear negotiations
internationally, my government focused at home on the deliberation and
articulation of citizens' rights leading to the promulgation of the
charter of citizens' rights and its issuance for implementation.
Adoption
of this charter conformed to the demands of a people who rose against
dictatorial regimes aspiring to restore their rights and human dignity
111 years ago in the constitutional revolution and again in the Islamic
revolution 39 years ago.
Ladies
and gentleman, I declare before this global assembly that moderation is
the inclination as well as the chosen path of the great Iranian people.
Moderation seeks neither isolation nor hegemony. It implies neither
indifference nor intransigence. The path of moderation is the path of
peace. But a just and inclusive peace, not peace for one nation, and war
and turmoil for others.
Moderation
is freedom and democracy, but in an inclusive and comprehensive manner.
Not purporting to promote freedom in one place while supporting
dictators elsewhere. Moderation is the synergy of ideas and not the
dance of swords. And finally, the path of moderation nurtures beauty.
Deadly weapons exports are not beautiful. Rather, peace is beautiful. We
in Iran strive to build peace and promote the human rights of peoples
and nations. We never condone tyranny and we always defend the
voiceless. We never threaten anyone but we do not tolerate threats from
anyone. Our discourse is one of dignity and respect. And we are unmoved
by threats and intimidation. We believe in dialogue and negotiation
based on equal footing and mutual respect.
In
today’s globalized world, peace, security, stability and the progress
of all nations are intertwined. It is not possible that a rogue and
racist regime tramples upon the most basic rights of the Palestinians
and the reserves of this land ... It is simply impossible for anyone to
aspire to attain long-term prosperity, peace and development while those
in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and elsewhere live in misery, war and
poverty. Mr. President, throughout its history, Iran has been the
bastion of tolerance for various religions and ethnicities. We are the
same people who rescued the Jews from Babylonian servitude, opened our
arms to welcome Armenian Christians in our midst, and created the
Iranian cultural continent with a unique mix of diverse religions and
ethnicities.
I
represent the same Iran that has historically assisted the oppressed.
Centuries ago we supported the rights of the Jewish people and today we
insist on the restoration of the rights of the Palestinian people. Iran
is still the same country supporting justice and seeking tranquility.
Today were on the front lines of fighting terror and religious extremism
in the Middle East. Not for sectarian and political reasons, but for
humanitarian and strategic ones.
Iran
does not seek to restore its ancient empire, impose its official
religion on others, or export its revolution through the force of arms.
We are so confident in the depth of our culture, the truth of our face,
and tenacity and longevity of our revolution that we will never seek to
export any of them in the way neocolonialists do with the heavy boots of
soldiers.
To
promote our culture, civilization, religion and revolution, we enter
hearts and engage minds. We recite our poetry and engage in discourse on
our philosophy. Our ambassadors are our poets our mystics and our
philosophers. We have reached the shores of this side of the Atlantic
through Rumi, and spread our influence throughout Asia with Saadi. We
have already captured with Hafez. We therefore are in no need of
conquests. Excellencies, the call of moderation is from a nation that
has been committed to it. We are not preaching it but practicing it. The
JCPOA is a case in point. The deal is the outcome of two years of
intensive multilateral negotiations overwhelmingly applauded by the
international community and endorsed by the Security Council as a part
of Resolution 2231. As such, it belongs to the international community
in its entirety and not only to one or two countries. The JCPOA can
become a new model for global interactions, based on mutual constructive
engagement between all of us. We have opened our doors to engagement
and cooperation. We have concluded scores of development agreements with
advanced countries of both East and West.
Unfortunately,
some deprived themselves of this unique opportunity. They have imposed
sanctions really against themselves and now they feel betrayed. We were
not deceived nor did we cheat or deceive anyone. We have ourselves
determined the extent of our nuclear program. We never sought to achieve
deterrence through nuclear weapons. We have immunized ourselves through
our knowledge and more importantly the resilience of our people. This
is our talent and our approach. Some have claimed to have wanted to
deprive Iran of nuclear weapons, weapons that we have continuously and
vociferously rejected. And of course, we are not and were not distressed
to be thwarted from an action that we never sought. It is reprehensible
that the rogue Zionist regime that threatens global security with its
nuclear arsenal and is not responsible to any international safeguard is
preaching to peaceful nations.
Ladies
and gentlemen, just imagine for a moment how the Middle East would look
had the JCPOA not been concluded. Imagine that along with civil wars,
terror, humanitarian nightmares and complex sociopolitical crises in
West Asia that there was a manufactured nuclear crisis. How would we all
fare?
I
declare before you that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not be the
first country to violate the agreement but it will respond decisively
and resolutely to its violation by any party. It will be a great pity if
this agreement would be destroyed by rogue newcomers to the world of
politics. The world will have lost an opportunity but such behavior will
never impede Iran’s course of progress and advancement. By violating
its international commitments, the new U.S. administration only destroys
its own credibility and undermines international confidence in
negotiating with it. Not accepting its word or promise.
Ladies
and gentlemen, four years ago the Islamic Republic of Iran sponsored
the initiative of the world against violence and extremism in this
assembly. We considered dialogue and negotiations based on a
positive-sum paradigm as the only pass towards global crises. We have
made a conscious decision to strengthen ties with our neighbors and
enhance cooperation with all friendly countries. It is impossible to
navigate through complexities and dangerous challenges in this turbulent
and transitional global phase without expanding international exchanges
and institutionalizing dialogue between nations and states. The
ignorant, absurd, and hateful rhetoric filled with ridiculously baseless
allegations that was uttered before this body yesterday was not only
unfit to be heard at the UN, which was established to promote peace and
respect between nations, but indeed also contradicted the demands of our
nations from this world body to bring governments together to combat
war and terror.
I
wish to underscore here that the defense capabilities of the Islamic
Republic of Iran including our missiles are solely defensive deterrence
for the maintenance of regional peace and stability and the prevention
of adventurous tendencies of irrational aspirants. We cannot forget that
civilians in many of our cities became the targets of long range
missile attacks by Saddam Hussein during his eight-year war of
aggression against us. We will never allow our people to become victims
of such catastrophic delusions again. Divisions have only been expanded
in our region by the hands of outside actors and powers that try to sell
evermore of their deadly weapons to other states by accusing Iran of
fomenting instability. I want to emphasize that foreign intervention and
the imposition of alien wishes on the people of the region will only
widen and deepen the crises in our region. The crises in Syria, Yemen
and Bahrain do not have military solutions and can only be solved
through cessation of hostilities and the through following the wills of
the populaces. The U.S. government should explain to its own people why
after spending millions of dollars of the assets of the people of
America and of our region instead of contributing to peace and
stability, it has only brought war, misery, poverty and the rise of
terrorism and extremism to the region.
Ladies
and gentlemen, over the past four years, Iran’s economy demonstrated
that it has unparalleled potential for expansion and growth. Economic
sanctions not only did not impede Iran but instead solidified popular
resolve to enhance domestic production. Achieving the highest global
growth rate proved the Iranian economy can become the most vibrant
emerging economy within the next 20 years with a trillion dollar growth
potential. Our strategic choice for achieving such sustainable balanced
growth is extensive global partnership. We are of the firm belief that
development and security can only grow together and common interests can
bind us regionally and globally to guarantee both regional and global
security. Iran enjoying the world’s largest gas and oil reserves, and is
prepared to engage in long term cooperation to advance long term global
security. We are eager to expand international transit corridors and
expand global infrastructure projects.
With
a conducive legal environment, many foreign delegations have come to
Iran, leading to an ever increasing number of investments, joint
ventures and financing agreements in various fields. It is the policy of
my government to continue to steadily enhance the entrepreneurial
environment, protect intellectual property rights, continuously improve
cooperative governance and engage in a robust effort against money
laundering, particularly in knowledge-based enterprises. The Iranian
nation is resolutely determined to build an economically advanced Iran,
secure and stable region based on ethics and respect for international
law. In this endeavor, we welcome participation of all investors across
the globe. From this global podium and as the representative of the
people of Iran, who are world famous for their hospitality and
cooperation among nations, to visit Iran and join us in building this
future of hope.
Ladies
and gentlemen, if we truly believe in our collective decision, four
years ago here in this general assembly to make a world against violence
and extremism, we can turn the discourse of imposition, unilateralism,
intimidation and war into the logic of dialogue, synergy and peace, so
that moderation can become the dominant voice across the globe. I thank
you for your attention.
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