President Hassan Rouhani says the latest terrorist attacks carried out by the so-called Islamic State militant group are aimed at creating a wave of Islamophobia around the world.
Rouhani made the statement while attending a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution in Tehran on Tuesday, Press TV reported.
“Islam is the religion of mercy and peace,” he said, adding that it should not be permitted to promote Islamophobia through such terrorist attacks, “especially in Europe and the United States where many Muslims live”.
Rouhani noted that Iran condemns terrorist activities in all its forms and called for global unity and determination to counter such terrorist acts, which claim the lives of innocent women, children and civilians.
The president stressed the importance of identifying the sources of funding and cutting them off for the IS terrorists to carry out their attacks.
Rouhani’s remarks came in the wake of Friday’s Paris attacks that left at least 129 people dead and 350 others injured, as well as the fatal bombings that killed over 40 civilians in the Lebanese capital Beirut last week.
