Iran's newly re-elected president has dismissed US President Donald Trump's calls for the region to isolate Tehran. Peace in the Middle East could only be possible with Iran at the table, Rouhani said.
"Who can say regional stability can be restored without Iran?" Rouhani said. "Who can say the region will experience total stability without Iran?"
Trump in Saudi Arabia - Alexandra von Nahmen reports from Riyadh
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In his speech on Islamic extremism on Sunday, Trump also singled out Tehran as an agent of terrorism.
"From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms and trains terrorists, militias and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region," the US president said. "Until the Iranian regime is willing to be a partner for peace, all nations of conscience must work together to isolate it."
Despite Trump's confrontational rhetoric, Iran had nothing to do with the terror attacks on the US in September 2001, or subsequent attacks in Europe - including Germany, France and England.
When asked how he forsaw his country's relations with the US, Rouhani said he hoped the Trump administration would "settle down" and try to understand his nation better.
"The Americans do not know our region, that's what the catch is," he said. "Those who provide consultations or advice to the Americans, unfortunately, they are the rulers who either push America awry or with money, they just buy some people in America."
Trump's Middle East visit - awaited with skepticism and hope
As US President Donald Trump makes his first international trip, residents of the Middle East from all walks of life share what they expect of him.
Image: Reuters/F. Al Nasser
Nayef al-Hayzan in Saudi Arabia: 'Will have positive impact'
US President Trump visits two bastions of relative calm in the war-battered Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Israel. In a café in Riyadh, Nayef al-Hayzan explained why he is confident about the US president's trip: "I expect that Trump's visit will have a positive impact on the Saudi economy, and discussions are expected to tackle the problems in Syria."
In Jerusalem, Israel, falafel shop owner Ovad Chen has a more fatalistic view: "I see myself as a very simple person and I believe that at the end of the day, God controls everything. Therefore, it doesn’t really matter what Trump is saying or doing in the Middle East or anywhere else."
Image: Reuters/N. Elias
Iraqi fighter Ali Bassem: 'He is a hero'
All 50 Muslim states whose leaders Trump will meet in the Saudi capital are menaced by the rise of the so-called Islamic State. Ali Bassem, an Iraqi fighter the on the frontline in Mosul is enthusiastic: "He is a hero. He got [IS] out of Iraq. He is cooperative with the Iraqi people and we and the Americans are one nation. We are brothers."
Image: Reuters/D. Siddiqui
Pub owner Somar Hazim in Damascus: 'No clear methodology'
In his pub in Damascus, Syria, Somar Hazim explained his views: "His Syria policy is based on interests, in the sense that there's no clear methodology. As for the issue of arming the Kurds, I do not oppose this as long as the goal is fighting a common enemy of the Syrian state, which is [IS], provided that these weapons are not exploited to create a partitioned idea of Syria."
Image: Reuters/O. Sanadiki
Sherine Haji in Syria: 'I am worried for my people'
Sherine Haji, a female fighter in the Kurdish YPG militia rests in a hospital in Syria. She has a more critical view: "The plan to arm the YPG is a decision taken late. If this support was happening in the first place, the advances would have been quicker. Now I'm wounded, I've lost two legs, I'm worried for my people. This must end, there must be a free and peaceful life in this country."
Image: Reuters/R. Said
Anonymous female fighter in the Gaza strip: 'A man of war'
An anonymous female fighter from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), in the southern Gaza Strip remarked: "Trump is a man of war, he works on spreading war, chaos and killing among people. Like other presidents who came before him, I do not see he will bring about peace or any good to the Palestinian people. I see that there is another war coming."
Image: Reuters/I. A. Mustafa
Marla Awad from Syria on the travel ban 'very bad decision'
Attitudes are also colored by the actions of Trump's first months in power, among them his attempt to ban citizens of some mostly Muslim countries from traveling to the US. Marla Awad from Damascus was upset: "What matters to me was one very bad decision - his refusal to allow Syrians to immigrate to America is racist. Traveling was a dream of mine to fulfill my ambitions to study and work."
Image: Reuters/O. Sanadiki
Student Mubarak Mashali in Egypt: 'Things will get worse'
In Egypt, Mubarak Mashali, a student at Cairo University, was very skeptical, "I think Trump is going to ruin things and make them worse than they already are throughout the whole Middle East."
Image: Reuters/M. A. El Ghany
Sattar Muhsin Ali in Baghdad: 'Trump's policy will hold positive elements'
A different attitude was expressed by Sattar Muhsin Ali in his store in Baghdad, Iraq: "I think the core policy of Trump is focusing on eliminating terrorism and drying out its financial sources in the world and curbing the terror-supporting states. Iraq suffered a lot from the policy of former American administrations which led to the spread of chaos and finally to the emergence of [IS]."
Image: Reuters/T. Al-Sudani
Dates seller Djamel Bouktech in Algeria: 'Will always be friends'
In Algiers, Algeria, dates seller Djamel Bouktech is pragmatic: "I think it's just a simple courtesy visit because the Arabs of the Middle East are and will always be friends and strong allies of the USA. This will have a positive effect for the allies and a negative for the others in the Middle East in the long term because of the fragility of the region."
Image: Reuters/R. Boudina
Refugee Lara Shahin hopes for a 'return to a democratic country'
Trump's decision to launch cruise missiles against a Syrian airbase to punish Damascus for a chemical weapons attack was analyzed by Lara Shahin in Amman: "Trump's decision to strike at the airbase was a surprise move that raised my hopes the US president will take bolder decisions in the future that would end President Bashar al-Assad's rule and allow me to return home to a democratic country."
Image: Reuters/M. Hamed
George Gharib in Lebanon: 'Trump will be like all previous presidents'
In his shop in Beirut, Lebanon, George Gharib doesn't expect much: "I do not expect any change in American policies towards the region, especially since President Trump is committed to moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem and there is no intention to
pressure Israel. He will be like all previous presidents who came before him
with bias and abiding by Israeli interests."
The White House said the deal would support the long-term security of the Gulf region in the face of Iranian threats.
However, while Rouhani's greatest political achievement to date has perhaps been the 2015 agreement with six major powers, including the US, to curbing Iran's nuclear program, the Iranian president insisted that ballistic missile tests would continue "if technically necessary."
Rouhani said that Iran's missiles were "for our defense and for peace, they are not offensive," adding that he would not need permission from the US to conduct such tests.
Iran wants 'more democracy and interaction with the world'
"The Iranian people voted for moderation as they know a prosperous economy and jobs can only happen through investment, and investment through freedom and interaction with the world," he said as he began his second term as president.
Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers was expected to open up the country to the world once again, but progress has proven slow. Trump, meanwhile, has threatened to tear up the deal.
