Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday blasted U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel for their posture towards the Islamic Republic, even falsely blaming the latter for supporting the Islamic State.
“I am amazed at the interpretations of Mr. Trump, vis-à-vis terrorism,” he told Fox News’s Chris Wallace.
The president of the nation that’s known as the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, said, “Today, America, unfortunately, is the supporter of terrorism in our region—and wherever America has gone, terrorism has expanded in the wake.”
Rouhani lamented U.S. military activity in Syria, which includes fighting ISIS, labeling it as American “terrorism.”
“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,” he said.
Rouhani mentioned that Iran has abided by the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the 2015 nuclear deal, despite evidence of the contrary.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have intensified since the former withdrew from the nuclear accord in May 2018, reimposing sanctions lifted under it along with enacting new sanctions against the latter.
On Sept. 14, Iran attacked two Saudi Aramco oil facilities. In response, the Trump administration sanctioned Iran’s Central Bank and announced the deployment of an unspecified number of U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia to provide air and missile defense.
France, the United Kingdom and Germany blamed Iran for the attack, which the regime has denied.
In the interview, Rouhani again ruled out negotiations with Trump. There was speculation the two could meet this week on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly, though that’s currently unlikely.
Moreover, Rouhani inaccurately accused Israel of supporting ISIS and for “attacking on usurping on the rights of others and on a daily basis has targeted the people of Lebanon, Palestine and most recently even Iraq, as well as Syria.”
“There is no terrorism throughout the world that matches the activities of Israel,” he said. “Those who fight for the freedom of their lands and their homes are not terrorists. Those who render aid to Daesh [the Arabic name for ISIS] are terrorists. Israel is the country that takes care of the injured ISIS fighters and they make weapons available to them.”
When asked by Wallace whether Israel really supports ISIS, Rouhani said, “Certainly, undoubtedly.”
“Do you have any doubts? Would you like to see the proof? You should visit Israeli hospitals and see the injured Daesh war fighters, how they’re being care of. You should see the weapons captured from ISIS fighters and see that they’re Israeli-made.”
Finally, Rouhani said “it doesn’t matter” who is elected president of the United States in 2020.
“We say that America should live up to her commitments, be it a Democratic or a Republican president,” he said. “A national commitment—the commitment of a country is not based on a party in control of the presidency, of the executive branch. So, it was the country, the nation that gave the commitment. So, we want to see someone who will live up to these commitments, take these commitments seriously.”