Iran nuclear deal to improve environmental cooperation in region: Rouhani

The Iran nuclear deal will help improve regional and international cooperation including on environmental sustainability, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told the Sustainable Development Summit here Saturday.

"(The) nuclear deal between the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. -- plus Germany) has created suitable conditions for regional and international cooperation including in the field of environmental preservation," Rouhani said at the three-day summit, which kicked off here Friday.

Under the Iran deal, signed by Iran and world powers, Iran has agreed to abolish its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

The 193 UN member states on Friday unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals -- a set of 17 economic, social and environmental goals -- on the first day of the summit.

Rouhani's speech highlighted the environmental, and peace and security aspects of the goals, which also cover issues such as health, education and gender equality.

"Violence against man and nature are the dual calamities befalling the West Asia region," said Rouhani.

"The West Asia region is not only facing warmer climate conditions and challenges of continued extensive drought but it is also grappling with the scourge of terrorism and extremist violence," he added.

He said that environmental destruction was both a result and a cause of instability and terrorism.

"Terrorists in fact tend to grow and thrive in environments that are deprived and damaged by environmental disasters," he said.

"Terrorist groups crush the Sustainable Development Goals and the continuation of this situation results in further poverty and environmental destruction," he added.

Violence also forced countries to take sustainable development off their agenda to instead focus their resources on fighting against insecurity, said Rouhani. Enditem