Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV, New York City
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi gave his first speech at the United Nations General Assembly, filled with demands for multilateralism, justice and peaceful logic.
Following Iran’s official admittance to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization last week, Raisi insisted that there is increasing progress towards cooperative internationalism, and away from unilateralism. He decried the choice of “capitalism over morality”, saying such ideas “have lost their legitimacy in public opinion”.
Raisi spoke of Iran’s success in defeating the Daesh terrorist group, called for an end to Israel’s “seven decades of ceaseless oppression” against Palestinians, and demanded a fair trial and justice for the murderers of Iranian anti-terror hero General Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
Raisi said “the story of the Iranian nation is of a nation which stands on its own feet”, but that the “US cannot accept” such independence, and this explains why for Washington “militarism is its security”.
The Iranian president then continued with more top-level bilateral meetings, and also met with a group of analysts, academics and members of think-tanks.
No progress appears to have been made this week to restart the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, regarding Iran’s nuclear energy program. Iranian negotiations this week with Europe were reportedly tense, as - for years - Europe has failed to honestly implement their side of the agreement.
Tehran has said they are willing to revive the 2015 deal, but that Iran needs verifiable guarantees that Washington will not illegally and unilaterally withdraw from the accord again, as it did in May 2018.