The roots of terrorism should be explored before it can be fought effectively, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an international summit on terrorism in Tehran on Saturday, dpa reported.
He blamed United States militarism for instability, saying the real dimensions of the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US and the Holocaust should be exposed in order to stop terrorism.
"If the black box of the 9/11 incident and Holocaust were opened, then some of the truth would be exposed, but the United States does not allow this," Ahmadinejad said.
He said the two events were pretexts by the US to put down Muslims and at the same time make huge economic benefits by spreading panic in the region.
Ahmadinejad has often questioned what he calls accepted truths.
"There are networks which have thousands of members and sympathizers and it is the duty of the Islamic countries to fight these groups without any foreign interference," Ahmadinejad said.
The presidents of Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan and Tajikisan and top officials from several other countries were present at the start of the two-day summit on Saturday.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, was warmly welcomed by the Iranian administration.
"The US tries to expose those as the guilty parts who themselves are victims of suppression and forgets its own role in this regard," al-Bashir said in Tehran.
He thanked Iran for trying to disclose the real dimensions of suppression and terrorism at the summit.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai meanwhile said the meeting was important as terrorism in his country has increased since the foreign military intervention 10 years ago.
"Terrorism in Afghanistan is spreading despite all efforts to improve education and infrastructure, making the threat of terrorism in my country more than ever and leaving us far away from peace and security," Karzai said.
"It is a disgrace that Islam is misused by some groups and all Islamic countries should therefore seriously try to correct the image of Islam which is a religion of peace and friendship."
The presidents of Iraq, Pakistan and Tajikistan also called for joint efforts by all Islamic countries to fight terrorism.
According to Iran's official news agency, the three neighbouring countries - Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan - issued a statement calling for joint efforts to fight terrorism along their borders.
The presidents of the three states also agreed to hold the next anti-terrorism summit in Islamabad by the end of the current year.
Karzai also met Saturday with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to discuss the latest regional developments. Khamenei reportedly told him that as long as US troops were deployed, there would no real security in Afghanistan.
The ayatollah also expressed doubt that Washington was serious in withdrawing 33,000 of its 100,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer.
"I am sure that the Afghan youth would be able to reconstruct Afghanistan and Iran would be ready to provide them with any technical know-how and experience needed," Khamenei was quoted by official media as saying.
Tehran has on several occasions criticized the US and its Western allies for having contributed to the deterioration in security in Afghanistan and Iraq through its military presence.
Tehran argues that it is only countries in the region, and not foreign governments, that can fight terrorism effectively.