TORONTO, Canada – President Shimon Peres lamented that Iran lost the chance to start good relations with Israel at the World Economic Forum, where Hassan Rouhani became the first Iranian president in a decade to speak at a gathering of the world’s most powerful business and political leaders.
"The most important part of the remarks was the one that he didn't announce: He didn't express support for peace in the Middle East," Peres said after Rouhani’s speech on Thursday.
The Iranian president did call for peace in Syria, but Peres rejected the remark. "He didn't announce that, in order to reduce bloodshed in Syria, he is going to stop sending arms," said Peres.
After a decade, for the first time an Iranian president spoke at an annual gathering of business and political leaders, held at the Swiss ski resort of Davos. This forum brings together 2,500 leaders.
In an effort to encourage foreign investment in his country, Rouhani mentioned that Iran is looking forward to “constructive engagement” with the West.
"Iran is prepared to engage in constructive cooperation in promoting global energy security by relying on its vast energy resources in a framework of mutual interest," the Iranian leader said.
He added that Iran has the potential to be one of the top 10 economies in the world, and was welcoming foreign investment.
"We are prepared to engage in a serious process to establish reliable institutions for this long-term partnership," Rouhani said.
Peres was not the only Israeli leader to react negatively to the speech. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of lying to the international community about the realities of its controversial nuclear program.
Netanyahu said that Rouhani's speech "just doesn't have any connection to what is going on on the ground.”
"Of course Rouhani can say something. That doesn't make it real. It sounds nice, but it's false," he said.
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