In an address to the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said “certain intelligence agencies,” which he did not identify, “have put blades in the hands of madmen, who now spare no one,” NBC News reported. He said that outside aggression had disrupted the lives of ordinary people, causing “psychological consequences that are today manifested in the form of violence and murder.” He also expressed his astonishment that the "murderous groups call themselves Islamic,” and accused the Western media for aligning with the "false claim, which provokes the hatred of all Muslims.”
