NEW YORK — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Friday that Hamas and Hezbollah are not terrorist groups.
Rouhani, who gave an hourlong press conference at the One U.N. New York hotel on Friday, repeatedly condemned those who financially or materially support ISIS. But he denied that groups for whom Iran provides that kind of support are terrorists, despite the fact that both Hamas and Hezbollah are listed as terrorist groups by the U.S. and the E.U. Iran is listed as a top state sponsor of terrorism by the State Department.
Rouhani said that Iran does not choose who it opposes based on whether they are Sunni or Shia. (Iran is predominantly Shia.)
"Our first battle against terrorism was against Shiite groups," he said, citing the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), who "sought breeding grounds and nests in western countries and are still present there." The MEK is a controversial opposition movement mainly composed of exiles who want the current Iranian regime to be overthrown.
"It doesn't matter to us what sect terrorists belong to," Rouhani said.
He said that Hezbollah is a legitimate member of Lebanon's parliament and government, and that it is "respected by government officials and the people of Lebanon."
"They always express their gratitude of that resistance which you spoke of in such passion earlier," he said to the reporter who asked the question.
As for Hamas: "Has Hamas not taken the reigns of power according to the results of an election?" he asked. "How is that you don't take the votes of the people at face value?"
"I have never heard of Hamas and Hezbollah taking action in other countries," Rouhani said. "All of the terrorist activities that we see today emanate from other groups."
Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been accused of a litany of terrorist activities, including Hezbollah's role in the 1983 Beirut bombing that killed over 200 U.S. Marines. Hezbollah was also accused of carrying out the 2012 Burgas bus bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israelis and one Bulgarian.
Rouhani's press conference covered a wide range of topics, including jailed Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, whom Rouhani did not refer to by name — though his Twitter account did:
Re Jason Rezaian, important is for those detained to have access to competent legal counsel& for their case to be processed in a just manner
He also discussed the negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, which are ongoing and are supposed to wrap up by Nov. 24. The talks this week have not advanced far; the French foreign minister even said that there had been "no progress."
Rouhani echoed that, saying that "progress has been extremely slow."
"It is up to the counterparts to show the same level of flexibility" that Iran has in negotiations, Rouhani said.
But he said he was hopeful that relations between the U.S. and Iran would improve and called for trust between the two nations to be "restored."
"All of us must clearly think of the future and take steps toward a positive future," he said.