Iran President: ISIL Seeks to Destroy Humanity

"They want to destroy humanity," Rouhani said in an exclusive interview with NBC News on Wednesday, when asked about the ISIL members’ beheading of American James Foley and Steven Sotloff and Briton David Haines.

"And from the viewpoint of the Islamic tenets and culture, killing an innocent person equals the killing of the whole humanity. And therefore, the killing and beheading of innocent people in fact is a matter of shame for them and it's the matter of concern and sorrow for the whole of mankind,” he explained.

Rouhani also reassured neighboring Iraq that Iran will provide it with whatever assistance necessary to combat the ISIL militants, stressing that the holy religious sites in the Arab country should be protected.

"When we say the red line we mean the red line," he said. "It means we will not allow Baghdad to be occupied by the terrorists or the religious sites in the cities of Karbala or Najaf be occupied by the terrorists."

Alluding to the US decision to take military action against the ISIL by launching airstrikes, Rouhani underlined that any aerial campaign in any country would require the consent of the government and people of that nation.

"Maybe it is necessary for (launching) airstrikes in some conditions and some circumstances," he added. "However, air strikes should take place with the permission of the people of that country and the government of that country."

The ISIL is a militant group in Iraq and Syria believed to be supported by the West and some regional Arab countries. The terrorist group claims as an independent state the territory of Iraq and Syria, with implied future claims intended over more of the Levant, including Lebanon, occupied Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus, and Southern Turkey.