President Barack Obama will try to repair US ties to the Islamic world this week in a speech from the Middle East that aides say will reach out to Muslims but deal with tough issues like the peace process and violent extremism.

Obama, who departs for the region on Tuesday, will use his address to try to repair some of the damage to America’s image caused by the Iraq war, US treatment of military detainees and the lack of progress in Mideast peace talks.

Asked on Monday if the continuing US conflict in Afghanistan would undermine his effort to engage the Islamic world, Obama said the United States had no territorial ambitions in Afghanistan and only wanted to prevent al-Qaeda from launching another September 11-style attack. “What we want is simply that people aren’t hanging out in Afghanistan who are plotting to bomb the United States,” Obama told National Public Radio. “That’s a fairly modest goal that other Muslim countries should be able to understand.”

The success of the US leader’s diplomatic initiatives in the region — like advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and halting Iran’s nuclear programme— may depend on how well Obama is able to improve US-Islamic ties.

The first stop on the president’s four-day visit to Middle East and Europe is Saudi Arabia, where he will hold talks with King Abdullah. He travels on Thursday to Cairo, where he will fulfill a campaign promise to deliver a speech to the Islamic world from a major Muslim capital early in his presidency.