Iran's Ebrahim Raisi lambasts US foreign policies & sanctions, denounces Israel at UNGA

In the first address to the United Nations (UN) on September 21 (local time), Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi not only slammed the US sanctions as a mechanism of war but also denounced Israel as the largest sponsor of “state terrorism, whose agenda is to slaughter women and children in Gaza and the West Bank.” The Conservative Iranian President delivered a far more critical and blunt stance on the United States’ foreign policy than his predecessor, Hassan Rouhani. As per The Associated Press report, Raisi’s speech to the 76th UN General Assembly session espoused Iran’s Islamic political identity and where the Shiite-led nation views itself globally. 

Raisi said, “Sanctions are the U.S.’ new way of war with the nations of the world” while also added that such economic punishments amid the COVID-19 pandemic amount to “crimes against humanity.” Notably, the sanctions imposed by the US on Iran have made international purchases of medicine and equipment challenging for Tehran even though humanitarian aid is still allowed. Iran has witnessed multiple waves of coronavirus infections and has registered 118,000 casualties, the highest in the region. 

“What is seen in our region today proves that not only the hegemonist and the idea of hegemony, but also the project of imposing Westernized identity, have failed miserably,” Raisi said.

“Today, the US does not get to exit Iraq and Afghanistan but is expelled,” he added while referring to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and its significant reduction of soldiers from Iraq. Addressing former US President Donald Trump and Biden’s slogans, he also said, "Today, the world doesn't care about 'America First' or 'America is Back.'"

Raisi denounced the blockade of the Gaza Strip

Apart from slamming Israel by saying, “The occupier Zionist regime is the organizer of the biggest state terrorism, whose agenda is to slaughter women and children,” he also denounced the blockade of the Gaza Strip. However, Israel has said that the restriction was required in a bid to prevent arms from reaching Palestinian terror groups in the coastal enclave. Raisi said, “An all-out blockade has turned Gaza into the biggest prison in the world.” Referring to the Trump administration’s peace proposal of Israel and Palestine, the Iranian President said that the “deal of the century failed.”

IMAGE: AP