Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday described India as a “living museum of ethnicities” where religions peacefully co-exist. Rouhani, who is in Hyderabad, is on a three-day visit to India, his first since he came to power in 2013.
At meeting with Muslim intellectuals on Thursday night, Rouhani spoke about Islam, non-violence, unity, and criticised the West for creating rifts among countries, PTI reported. Rouhani said the “enemies of Islam” want to represent it as a religion of violence. “Islam is not a religion of violence. Islam is a religion of moderation, Islam is a religion of kindness.”
Iran does not believe in a military solution for diplomatic problems, but “when a war is imposed, people have no other option but to defend themselves”, Rouhani said, while criticising the “western world for oppressing and exploiting” the East and its resources.
Rouhani said his country wanted to clear “hurdles” for people in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and said the solution to it is “unity and brotherhood in joint effort”.
On Friday, Rouhani is scheduled to visit Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ramnath Kovind in Delhi on Saturday. Rouhani is also expected to push for Indian investment in Iran’s infrastructure and oil projects, The Hindu reported.
Rouhani’s visit is significant as India and Iran work on making the strategically located Chabahar port operational. India is helping develop Chabahar, in Iran, to open a direct trade route to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan.
The Chabahar port is crucial not only because Pakistan does not allow India to send goods to Iran and Afghanistan, but also because it will act as a counter to the nearby Gwadar port in Pakistan, which China is developing.
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