Rouhani deplores Israel as main cause of regional insecurity

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed Israel for regional instabilities and the ongoing crises in some Muslim countries. “Israel is an occupier and usurper regime and the one which does injustice to regional people and has brought instability to the region through its warmongering policies,” President Rouhani told the US TV channel NBC on Thursday. Earlier this year, Iran's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Gholam Hossein Dehqani described Israel and its nuclear threats as the root causes of insecurities in the Middle East region. Dehqani made the remarks in a meeting of UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) in New York in April. He pointed to Iran's proposal for a Middle East free from nuclear arms, and said, "The Israeli regime hampers efforts to cleanse the entire region of all nuclear weapons." Dehqani noted that Iran calls for implementation of all UN amendments for freeing the Middle East and the world from nuclear arms. The Israeli regime is widely believed to be the only possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. The regime reportedly maintains between 200 and 400 atomic warheads. Moreover, the Israel has never allowed any international inspection of its nuclear facilities and has refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It has also refused to join the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which limits members to civilian uses of the nuclear technology. The UNDC meets annually in geographical working groups for three weeks in the spring, but over the years it has failed to agree on any substantial outcome.