By Mazdak Razi | 2023-09-26

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's September 19 speech at the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) was riddled with false claims, baseless accusations and inaccurate narratives, analysts said.

Raisi presented falsehoods as he did in previous UNGA speeches, as he does in speeches in Iran, and as did most of his predecessors, all of whom have aimed to whitewash the Iranian government's image in domestic and international affairs.

Part of the Iranian leader's speech was focused on Islam, Islamophobia, what he described as "cultural apartheid," and the need for families in societies.

Without mentioning how badly Iran is in need of justice on the domestic front on the heels of the widespread anti-regime uprising, Raisi expressed the need for "new order and justice in the world."

He also claimed the Islamic Republic believes the world "should not form a new East and West."

This part of Raisi's speech completely contradicts Iran's current policy.

Hit hard by US sanctions, some of which are imposed for its sponsorship of groups such as Hizbullah that are considered terrorist organizations, Iran has implemented a "Looking East" policy that aims to strengthen ties with China and Russia.

Iranian leader Ali Khamenei has tasked Raisi with implementing the policy.

Conspiracy theories

As expected, Raisi touched on the topic of the popular uprising in Iran -- the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement that ignited September 16, 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in "morality police" custody.

He started this section of his speech with a bizarre statement: "Last year was the year of the Iranian people's victory."

The protest movement managed to demonstrate the regime's brutality better than it ever had, and that was a victory for Iranians, but they paid for it with hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests and imprisonments, observers say.

Leaders of the Islamic Republic have incessantly accused "enemies" or "the West" of being behind any anti-establishment protest that has taken place in Iran over the 44 years in which the current regime has been in power.

The "Women, Life, Freedom" movement is no exception, as regime officials have consistently accused "foreign countries" and "enemies" of "fomenting unrest."

"Raisi, who himself played a major role in the executions of thousands of political prisoners in the 1980s, lied in this case, as usual," an Iran affairs analyst who wished to remain anonymous told Pishtaz.

"His words echo those of Ali Khamenei, who attributes every public protest to a Western conspiracy, and constantly voices his own conspiracy theories, although the entire world has recently witnessed the Iranian people's uprising," he added.

"Over 500 individuals, many of them women and young people, who were demanding their basic rights, were killed amid the regime's brutal crackdown."

"Even many former Islamic Republic officials, particularly reformists, issued statements or wrote open letters warning the regime about its path of 'self-destruction' amid the bloody oppression," he said.

The regime's bloody suppression of its citizens, particularly minors, has earned it the label of "child-killing regime" in Iran.

In a May article on his blog, prominent Iran-based writer and journalist Mohammad Ghaed wrote, "The protesting crowds spelled out their words loudly and clearly: they have absolutely no desire to hear whether or not Islamic rules have been correctly enforced..."

Anti-West position cost lives

In another section of his speech, Raisi blamed international sanctions as the main cause of death for more than 147,000 Iranians who died during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Iran was one of the worst-hit countries early on during the pandemic, with the regime accused of inefficient management, secrecy and lies, being slow to respond and to take protective measures to safeguard Iranian citizens.

As the virus rapidly spread, the Iranian regime failed to implement quarantines, continued to allow sanctioned airliner Mahan Air to fly to China, and attempted to conceal the extent of the outbreak.

Although he later changed course -- after thousands lost their lives -- Khamenei in January 2021 banned the government from importing Covid-19 vaccines from the United States and the United Kingdom, limiting Iran's options.

"Importing vaccines made in the United States or the United Kingdom is prohibited," Ali Khamenei said in a tweet at the time.

In a live televised speech, Khamenei said the vaccines were "untrustworthy," adding that perhaps the United States and the United Kingdom "want to test their vaccines on other nations."

"If Pfizer can produce a vaccine, the United States should use it for its own people," he said, adding that he was not "optimistic" about French vaccines, either.

Iranians will not forget that in his blind hatred toward the West, Khamenei banned the vaccines when the Iranian people most desperately needed them, analysts said.

"Khamenei's anti-West sentiment cost my 59-year-old sister her life," said a 62-year-old Iranian pharmacy technician who wanted to remain unnamed.

"His change of course helped save many later, but for my family, it was too little, too late, and like thousands of other families, we will not forget this," she told Pishtaz.

Lies and distortions

Raisi also distorted facts about Russia's war on Ukraine in his UN speech.

He said Iran is in favor of ending the conflict, while in reality, it plays an active role in the war by delivering drones to Russia.

Military evidence has repeatedly proven that Iran-made Shahed and Mohajer drones have been regularly used in Russian attacks on Ukraine, destroying infrastructure and killing civilians.

Raisi also claimed in his speech that the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is peaceful and that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed Iran's adherence to its obligations.

Just a day before Raisi's speech at the UN, IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi described Iran's nuclear program as a problem his organization faces.

A week prior, Germany, France and the United Kingdom stated their "deep concern" about Iran's continued violation of nuclear commitments.

Members of the Iranian diaspora gathered in large numbers in New York, near the UN building, to protest Raisi's speech.

They carried banners saying the Iranian president should be prosecuted for the crimes he has committed against Iranians, including during the time he held judiciary positions over three decades ago.

Raisi is widely known as being a main decision-maker in the mass executions of 1988, during a purge of dissidents held in Iranian prisons.

Amnesty International and multiple other human rights organizations have described the mass killings as a crime against humanity.