Reliance on Foreign Powers Main Security Challenge in Region

"Instability in the region will bear nothing but two results; spread of extremism and exacerbated dependence. Iran considers violence of Takfiri groups and attempts to attain security through reliance on foreign powers as the main challenge in the region and is after stability and peace in the region with good will and firm resolve," President Rouhani said, addressing the parliament in Tehran on Tuesday.

Noting that the problems in the region merely have regional solutions and Iran extends its hands to the neighboring states for cooperation, he warned, "The West Asia region, as a region full of tensions, is in a highly dangerous situation for the foreign interference and spread of extremism and violence."

"Iran wants a secure, powerful, stable and advanced region and considers regional cooperation in the political, economic, cultural and security fields as the only way to attain common goals and confrontation against the internal and imposed disorders in the region," Rouhani said.

In relevant remarks in March, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani underlined the regional countries' rich reserves of oil and gas, and said their rulers' dependence and reliance on the foreign states is shameful.

Big powers plunder assets of the regional countries with hollow promises of ensuring their security when they need them, Larijani said.

Blasting the rulers of certain regional states for their reliance on the US and Britain despite having huge resources of oil and gas, he said that relaying on foreign powers is a source of shame for them.