Iran has urged the international community to endeavor toward changing counterproductive, deep-rooted attitudes in favor of furthering justice, morality and democracy.
"What the world needs today is an international commitment and endeavor to make fundamental changes in old, common and repetitive methods and attitudes for shaping a world that is more just, moral and democratic," said Gholamali Khoshrou, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, on Thursday, Press TV reported.
He was addressing the UN General Assembly's high-level forum on the Culture of Peace at the world body's headquarters in New York. "Real peace can only come about by sowing seeds of wisdom and respect in the human mind," the envoy said, while pointing to the atrocities perpetrated by the self-styled Islamic State, Boko Haram and similar terrorist groups.
"While the entire world knows today what destructive and hollow mentality feeds the satanic force of terrorism and how it should be confronted, narrow-minded political malice and certain interests of certain people has so far prevented this from happening," he said.
The Iranian envoy said respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the complete elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear arms, help promote peace.
"Underdevelopment, extremism and terrorism, on the other hand, impede peace," he said. For the establishment of "genuine peace", Khoshrou said centers of power around the world have to accept that recourse to military power cannot solve the world's problems.
Khoshrou recalled the UN General Assembly's adoption of two resolutions in the past based on President Hassan Rouhani's proposal for a World Against Violence and Extremism and again urged all countries to unite for the realization of the cause of peace.
