TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasted Israel as the main source of violence and extremism, stressing the necessity for fighting criminal acts in any parts of the world.
"We should always remember the danger of the Zionist regime as the main source of violence and extremism and accept that continued massacre of innocent Palestinian people, mostly women and children, in the occupied territories, inhumane acts and Gaza siege all show the violent nature of a regime which is unfortunately continuing its savage acts under the ignorance shown by the world community, specially the western powers," Rouhani said, addressing the 13th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which started in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Thursday.
He said that Islam has taught Muslims that there is no difference between the crimes committed in Palestine, Lahore, Beirut, Damascus and Istanbul and the crimes committed in New York, Paris and Brussels, and stressed the need for finding the root causes of the crime and confronting it with firm determination.
President Rouhani arrived in Istanbul Wednesday night.
He said that Muslims of the world expect the Summit of Leaders in Istanbul to echo the voice of unity, solidarity and cooperation of the Muslim World.
During the 2-day meeting, Rouhani will have bilateral meetings with a number of his counterparts on the sidelines of the summit.