Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said his country will present a regional peace and security plan to the United Nations, citing "insecurity" from foreign forces in the Persian Gulf region.
He was speaking Sunday on Iranian television at the start of weeklong commemorations in Iran of a devastating 1980-88 war with neighboring Iraq, with military parades and other official events scheduled to show off Iranian military prowess.
Rouhani's statement comes after days of tough talk and threats by Iran's military commanders who even mocked the United States for failing to defend Saudi Arabia.
Rouhani himself boasted of Iran's power and said its enemies are "in doubt, having second thoughts" and have no courage to make decisions confronted by Iran's armed forces.
Rouhani is also slated to join other world leaders at the UN General Assembly that kicks off in New York on September 24.
"Foreign forces can cause problems and insecurity for our people and for our region," Rouhani said in the televised speech to Iran's 81 million people on September 22.
Middle East tensions have escalated over a recent attack on Saudi oil facilities that Washington has suggested originated from Iran and a U.S.-led effort already under way to ensure freedom of navigation in the strategic Straits of Hormuz amid recent Iranian seizures of commercial vessels.
U.S. President Donald Trump on September 20 authorized a "moderate" bolstering of U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates following the attack on a crucial Saudi oil-processing plant.
Iran has denied involvement in the September 14 attack on Saudi Arabia and warned the United States that any attack would lead to an "all-out war."
Talk has dissipated of a possible meeting between Trump and Rouhani on the sidelines of this month's UN General Assembly.
