Iran's President Pledges Continued Efforts to Liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s government, as before, will use all of its capabilities to save al-Aqsa Mosque and to liberate Muslims’ first qibla (the direction towards which Muslims pray) and will spare no efforts to help the oppressed people of Palestine. We are certain that the ultimate victory belongs to Muslims,” President Hassan Rouhani said in a Monday conference in Tehran, held to mark the World Mosque Day.

The president emphasized that the Islamic world, the Muslims and the clerical figures will not let the al-Aqsa mosque remain “under occupation of usurpers and aggressors”, a metaphor for Israel.

Elsewhere in his comments, President Rouhani hailed Iranians as a moderate nation saying, “We are neither far right nor far left, and the world is witnessing that.”

Referring to an act known as the World Against Violence and Extremism (WAVE), proposed earlier by Iran to the United Nations, Rouhani said the country’s foreign policy agenda has neutralized the negative propaganda campaign against Iran and Islam.

In December last year, the United Nations General Assembly approved a proposal presented by President Rouhani, which asks the UN member states to unite against extremism, violence and sectarian conflicts in all their forms.

The resolution, which received overwhelming approval in the global body, also necessitates “appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace and to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character.”