Raeisi’s UNGA speech did good job of unmasking West’s hypocrisy: Analyst

By Alireza Hashemi

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi’s speech to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) laid bare the West’s hypocritical behavior towards the rest of the world, says an international affairs analyst.

President Raeisi delivered a power-packed speech to the 78th session of the UNGA in New York on Tuesday, touching on many critical and pressing issues facing the world today.

This year’s summit saw the attendance of more than 140 leaders and state representatives from across the world, with discussions ranging from multilateralism, climate change, wars and sanctions.

Jafar Qanadbashi, speaking to the Press TV website, said the Iranian president’s address was different from other Muslim heads of state as it carried substance and was based on Islamic principles.

“Other leaders adopted defensive postures and invested not much effort in defending Islam in the face of Western attacks. But Raeisi officially mounted a counterattack against the West and tried to expose its anti-human agenda and hypocrisy, particularly over human rights,” he said.

The Iranian president began his speech to the UNGA by denouncing the recent sacrilegious Quran burnings in Sweden and Denmark, saying the holy book’s teachings cannot be burned.

“It shall never burn...The fire of disrespect will not overcome the divine truth,” he said while holding up a copy of the Holy Quran.

He warned that there’s a bigger plot behind the desecration of the Muslim holy book and said it is disingenuous to try to justify such acts by citing the right to freedom of speech.

Qanadbashi, hailing President Raeisi’s widely-shared speech, said the root of Islamophobic attacks in the West is its fear of Islam and its potential to undermine global Western domination.

Followers of Islam are on the rise worldwide, and it is spreading fast even in European nations, which has created an alarm in the West, he remarked.

“In their view, Islam is the driving force behind a civilization that can undermine their economic and military domination worldwide. This fear that Islam has the potential to be a real rival motivates them to attempt to smear it,” Qanadbashi said in a conversation with the Press TV website.

During his speech, President Raeisi also noted that the Western hegemony “no longer resonates with the realities of today’s world” and attempts to “Americanize the world” have failed.

“The equation of Western domination does not work for the world anymore, and the old liberal order that used to serve the interests of imperialists and capitalists has been brushed aside,” he noted.

The Iranian president hastened to add that there’s hope for the creation of a just world order as the new emerging order of non-Western states seeks closer ties with each other.

Qanadbashi further stated that President Raeisi struck at the heart of the West’s hegemonic power, rightfully highlighting the fact that the world is fed up with the global system that simply doesn’t work.

“The system is broken. Its evidence is everywhere. Look at the economic troubles Western nations are facing. Look at the social maladies they’re facing and the unending street protests in European countries,” he told the Press TV website.

“On the international level, the West can’t impact developments anymore. Take for example recent uprisings against Western-supported heads of state in African countries.”

Qanadbashi said many have noted this trend, even Western officials, including French President Emanuel Macron who has repeatedly warned that the West is on the decline.

The commentator stated that the world is moving towards a major upheaval that will end the US-led unipolar world order.

“BRICS is a clear example of how countries are trying to challenge the West’s political domination and de-dollarize global economy,” Qanadbashi said in a conversation with the Press TV website.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk