"We have not witnessed any major change in some countries' policy towards terrorist groups in the region and the terrorists are still being equipped and supported," the Iranian president said in a meeting with Danish Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard on Sunday.
"Iran is serious in its fight against terrorism and it will do all its efforts to eradicate this evil phenomenon from the region," he added.
"I hope that the western countries be serious in their fight against terrorism," President Rouhani said during the meeting.
On September 25, 2013, President Rouhani proposed "the World against Violence and Extremism (WAVE)" initiative in his address to the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
On December 18, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to approve President Rouhani’s proposal, which called on all nations across the globe to denounce violence and extremism.
On December 20, Iran offered to host an international conference on UN resolution adopted based on President Rouhani’s WAVE initiative.
“As the flag-bearer and architect of the resolution on fighting extremism in the world, which has been approved with a global consensus at the United Nations General Assembly, Iran offers to hold an international conference in this regard in Tehran,” Iran’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mohammad Khazayee said.
The Iranian diplomat emphasized that violent extremism would have destructive ramifications for the international law and order and would harm nations’ historical, national and cultural identity.
"The Tehran conference can serve as support for the UN General Assembly’s resolution and can examine the dimensions and consequences of violence and extremism and differentiate between extremist and violent groups on the one hand and those groups which rise up to defend their homeland and national independence and to oppose foreign aggression on the other,” Khazayee said.
