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“Today, America, unfortunately, is the supporter of terrorism in our region — and wherever America has set foot, terrorism has expanded in its wake,"
In an interview with U.S. media, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded to his U.S counterpart Donald Trump’s speech at the U.N. by saying that it is the U.S., not Iran, who spreads terror in the region, pointing to U.S. intervention in Syria, and economic sanctions as primary examples of U.S. terror in the Middle East.
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Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations General Assembly was full of attacks on Iran, accusing it of “menacing behavior”.
Following the speech, President Rouhani spoke to Fox News, saying that in fact, the reverse is true. It is the U.S. that is sponsoring terror in the region. “Today, America, unfortunately, is the supporter of terrorism in our region — and wherever America has set foot, terrorism has expanded in its wake," he said.
Highlighting intervention in Syria, saying, “The country that is present and flying over the air space of and bombarding the soil of the country of Syria without permission of the government is the United States of America.”
There have also been criticisms of U.S. sponsoring of terror groups in Syria. In 2017 U.S. lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard proposed the “Stop Arming Terrorists Act” that denounced covert U.S. state department funding for groups such as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, AlQaeda affiliates and Islamic State group.
In July, Iran’s foreign minister spoke at the U.N., calling U.S. economic sanctions a form of terrorism, saying they are “deliberately targeting innocent civilians to achieve illegitimate political objectives.”
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