Iran's president says he holds the U.S. responsible for the spread of terror in the Middle East

In a speech Monday to the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the United States is to blame for the spread of terrorism in the Middle East.

"If we did not have the U.S. military invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq and the United States' unwarranted support for the inhumane actions of the Zionist regime against the oppressed nation of Palestine, today the terrorists would not have an excuse for the justification of their crimes," he said. Earlier in his remarks, Rouhani called the nuclear accord reached between his country and six world powers, including the U.S., a "brilliant example of victory over war." That pact, he said, should be the first step in disarming the entire Middle East, and "the Zionist regime" of Israel was "the only impediment" to that goal, NBC News reports.

Rouhani also blasted Saudi Arabia, blaming the stampede that killed hundreds of Muslim pilgrims last week in Mecca on "incompetence and mismanagement of those in charge." Of the victims, 136 were Iranians, and Rouhani wants to see an independent investigation into the incident.

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