Republican Lawmakers Fight Raisi Visit To US
Republican lawmakers are leading a campaign to prevent Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi from entering the US for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) next week.
Republican lawmakers are leading a campaign to prevent Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi from entering the US for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) next week.
The invite has caused anger across US Congress as one of the world’s most ruthless political figures is visits the US and is welcomed to the meeting of the world’s leaders.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R.-NY) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R.-Texas) introduced legislation on Tuesday that will make it illegal for Raisi and his delegation to attend UNGA, according to Washington-based Free Beacon.
Just last year, Raisi delivered a speech that berated the United States for withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear accord and claimed Iran is a beacon of justice, as the country was falling into the worst uprising in its modern history.
Raisi is also alleged to have been invited to a meeting with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Although no announcement could be found on CFR’s website, a member of the Council, the well known Iranian Jewish writer, Roya Hakakian, wrote a post on X sharing information that she was invited to the meeting but turned down the invitation due to his attending.
Hakakian shared her declining the invitation saying, “Thank you for this invitation, which, I'm afraid, I must decline. While I am an absolutist when it comes to the value of dialogue, I see the presence of Ebrahim Raisi at the Council on Foreign Relations as a political baptism for a man who has been implicated in countless crimes.”
Iran International wrote to the Council on Foreign Relations asking for clarification but has not received a response at the time of this publication. The date of the meeting is not clear, but Raisi will attend the United Nations annual General Assembly taking place in New York City from September 18-26, in spite of an ongoing UN investigation into the regime’s human rights abuses.
Republicans including Tenney and Cruz maintain that Raisi has no right to be hosted in New York City as the regime fosters terrorism across the globe and launches attacks against US forces and allies in the Middle East. Iran is now under heavy sanctions not only for its ongoing nuclear program, but its dire human rights abuses in Iran and its support of Russia's war on Ukraine.
It is unlikely the legislation will pass before Raisi’s arrival but the campaign has garnered support across the board. The legislation, dubbed the SEVER Act, will "show the international community that terrorists are not welcome in the US," Tenney told the Free Beacon.
She added: ”It is imperative we stop Raisi and his associates from setting foot on American soil. Raisi, whose nickname is ‘the Butcher of Tehran,’ has a record of grave human rights abuses and orchestrating terrorist activities worldwide."
Raisi gained his notoriety from events including the mass murder of around 5,000 dissidents in the 1980s and more recently, has defended the brutal suppression of protesters who took to the streets in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.
It is hoped the bill could set a precedent for future Republican administrations to ban controversial figures and dictators, and is based on sanctions issued by former president Donald Trump. However, the first was first introduced by Tenney and Cruz last year, but it did not pass.
The visit by Raisi comes hot on the heels of a hostage deal with the Biden administration that freed up $6 billion in frozen revenue held in South Korea in exchange for five US-Iranian citizens held in Iran. Iran has also negotiated for a prisoner swap, coming out strongly from the deal which has also led to allegations of breach of Congressional laws laid at the Biden administration’s door.
Sariolghalam also insisted in an interview with Khabar Online that membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS will not help Iran unless it maintains healthy relations with the rest of the world. The biggest service Iranian lawmakers, policy makers and decision-makers can do to the nation is trying to relieve the country of the sanctions and pave the way for constructive international relations.
A graduate of the USC and the Ohio State University, Dr. Sariolghalam who teaches at the Beheshti University in Tehran, suggested in this interview that Iran should start liberalization before democratization and prioritize economic development before starting political development as a way out of its current crisis.
He also added that having experts as members of the parliament is part of the way out of the crisis. He said the main concern for officials should be one of economic development because a country without an income cannot have social or cultural growth.
Emphasizing the need for expertise within the government, Sariolghalam highlighted that economic development and governance are akin to sciences like medicine and engineering. He went on to state that holding numerous conferences each year is not necessary to grasp this concept. He further underscored that given the current state of affairs in Iran, the country cannot progress in a manner comparable to the development seen in countries like South Korea, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, and Indonesia.
Hinting at the pitfalls of government and military control of the economy, he pointed out that in countries like China, Turkey, and Mexico, governments separated the realms of resource management and ownership to foster development. Conversely, India achieved development when its military recognized the necessity of separating ownership from the state.
Sariolghalam said officials need to understand that high significance is attached to expertise in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to ensure their development. He added that the ability to communicate with the outside world should be a key criterion for appointing ministers and electing lawmakers. He warned that during the next 20 years, a vast gap will emerge between Iran and Arab countries.
He also cautioned that Iran cannot grow if the government wishes to control 95 percent of all resources and leave only 5 percent for the private sector. Elsewhere in the interview, Sariolghalam said the West's problem with Iran is not about the nuclear issue, it is about Iranian officials' attitude toward Israel and the Jewish people. The JCPOA could not solve the conflict between Iran and the West and that is why it was not successful.
Meanwhile, in another interview with Khabar Online, former commander of the IRGC navy Hossein Alaei, who has been known as an academic in the Iranian universities as well as a reformist political figure during the past three decades, said that "halfway through President Ebrahim Raisi's four-year term of office, the government is beginning to realize that Iran's economic problems will not be solved unless the sanctions are lifted."
He also added that Iran's membership in international organizations such as BRICS and SCO can be helpful only in the absence of sanctions. Speaking about the hindrances to Iran's development, Alaei said that US sanctions are the main obstacle.
The former commander emphasized that Iranian officials must alter their approach towards the West, particularly the United States. He regarded Iran's enmity with the US as the nation's most pressing issue, noting that the current sanctions make it unlikely for any country to consider cooperating with Tehran. He urged a reduction in this perilous level of hostility towards the United States.
"All officials should make economic development their number one priority," Alaei underlined.
The plenary session opened in Strasbourg to discuss the effectiveness of European measures “one year after the murder of Mahsa Amini” in custody of the Islamic Republic’s hijab police that ignited the Women, Life, Freedom protests, the boldest revolt against the regime since its establishment in 1979.
Opening remarks by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola a day earlier sounded vapid as she reiterated that “Parliament proudly stands with the brave, defiant women and men who continue to fight for equality, dignity and freedom in Iran...” She also “strongly” condemned the Iranian regime for “taking EU and dual nationals hostage” and called for “the immediate release of EU official Johan Floderus and Professor Ahmad Reza Jalali.”
EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell opened similarly, claiming that "the EU has stood united over the past 12 months on Iran.” “The last 12 months marked a clear change in our relations with Iran. We've adopted nine consecutive rounds of sanctions...Our relations with Iran are at a low point, but we need to keep diplomatic channels open."
After Borrell, dozens of MEPs took turns decrying what they dubbed as toothless measures against the regime that failed to prevent killing of protesters, taking hostages, supplying arms to Russia and wreaking havoc across the region through the Revolutionary Guards as well as its proxy militias. Their demands included labeling the IRGC as a terrorist outfit, more comprehensive sanctions against the regime's human rights abusers, and refusing any negotiations with the regime until all EU citizens unjustly held are freed.
German MEP Hannah Neumann said, "Mr. Borrell, it's time to clearly spell it out: The EU's Iran policy of the last 44 years has failed. Stop meeting regime representatives! Start meeting the many different people that advocate for a free Iran! Stop financial flows of the regime and start exploring avenues for the diaspora to send home remittances for strike funds!”
“Spell out the truth: This regime terrorizes its own citizens and the whole region, it systematically uses rape to force political prisoners into confessions, and it is already preparing to crack down on the protests planned for September 16 (the death anniversary of Mahsa Amini). Mr. Borrell, you have to stop stabilizing a brutal regime while the people in Iran are prepared to die for its downfall!" she added.
Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister, denounced EU’s approach and strategy on the Islamic Republic, saying, “Let's be honest: the policy and the strategy of Europe towards Iran is purely symbolic. It has nothing to do with stopping the regime.”
“This parliament wants another approach! I request that in two months, we revisit this matter on the plenary of this parliament so that we can see the change in your strategy and that you can also convince your colleagues, the ministers of foreign affairs, because a new course of action is not solely your responsibility,” he added.
“What is happening in Iran is a disgrace. It's a regime of violence and murder,"Verhofstadt underlined.
Charlie Weimers, a Swedish conservative democrat, noted that “EU leaders have expressed support for the protests against the mullahs. But the EU has continued its failed policy of appeasement.”
He called on all the decision makers to “unite -- from left to right -- for a new EU policy: Maximum support for the people. Maximum pressure on the regime.”
Bart Groothuis, a Dutch MEP, called on the bloc to “expel all Iranian ambassadors from Europe” and cut diplomatic ties “until all European hostages are freed."
Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, took the floor again after the MEPs, saying, “I don't think it is acceptable to say that the European Union supports this regime, which is what I just heard... You've expressed your moral indignation, and that's okay, but I don't think that that is actually going to solve miraculously the problems.”
"We've been working to help support Iranian women in their fight for their fundamental rights and will continue to do so. We are also working with the member states to try and solve many of the cases of European citizens that have been illegally detained in Iran. And we're trying to help and provide support for them to come back to Europe,” he stated.
Regarding calls for the designation of IRGC as a terrorist group, Borrell reiterated his earlier position that a national authority or court should find the IRGC complicit in terrorism before the EU takes a step to designate it.
Borrell claimed that "At the moment, we don't have that, and well, I can't take this step. We need the unanimity of the 27 member states and that is the basis. So, I'm afraid I can't do this. If you think that I'm wrong, tell me why."
His remarks came despite numerous efforts by MEPs and activists to provide the necessary groundwork for the EU to act on calls to list the IRGC as a terror group. In July, two MEPs stated that according to the “Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, Article 1(4) which sets out the parameters for the inclusion of persons and entities on the EU terrorist list,” the IRGC can be listed without any legal barriers. In June, a similar line of arguments was put forth by Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi, citing a group of French-Iranian lawyers who reasoned that there are no legal obstacles for the EU to blacklist the Revolutionary Guards.
In January, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on the EU and member states to designate the IRGC as a terrorist group, as it does not have such an authority. If the resolution garners enough support, it is then upon the national governments of the EU member states to make the final decision. The listing of the IRGC must have a unanimous vote by all 27 EU members in the EU Council.