(UnitedVoice.com) – In 2021, the Iranian people elected Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati, commonly known as Ebrahim Raisi, to serve as president of the country. The religious hardliner has ruled the Middle Eastern nation with an iron fist since then. Experts believe the election was rigged to insert him as head of the country.
Raisi traveled to the United States on September 18 to speak at the United Nations. Republicans and others were outraged by his visit to America.
Butcher of Tehran
Raisi isn’t just a controversial figure because he’s a religious hardliner. He was given the nickname the “Butcher of Tehran” for his role in the 1988 mass execution of prisoners. The executions happened at the end of the country’s war with Iraq. After a failed attack by Saddam Hussein when the cease-fire was in place, the Iranian government held retrials of militants, political prisoners, and others. Those trials were known as “death commissions.”
Approximately 5,000 people were sent to their deaths, but some say the number could be as high as 30,000.
Raisi served on one of the panels that sentenced people to death. He has also been accused of funding attacks on US soldiers and their allies. Last year, the Iranian government murdered hundreds of its own citizens who protested in the country.
Opposition to UN Visit
Raisi spoke to the UN General Assembly on September 19. He accused the US of fanning the flames of violence in Ukraine. Prior to his arrival in New York City, Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) co-sponsored a bill to prohibit him from visiting America.
Rubio accused the Iranian president of supporting terrorism and wanting to kill Americans. He said his bill would “accomplish what [President Joe Biden’s] Administration appears unwilling to do” by banning Raisi.
On the Friday before the event, Republican Senators Rick Scott (FL), Katie Boyd Britt (AL), Ted Budd (NC), Chuck Grassley (IA), and Tom Cotton (AR) sent the president a letter about Raisi’s trip to the US. The lawmakers called Iran the largest state sponsor of terrorism. They slammed the regime’s “involvement in terrorism and its threats” against US national security and former officials. Further, the country is a threat to America’s allies, including Israel.
The senators wanted Biden to deny Raisi’s US visa, as late President Ronald Reagan did in 1988 when Palestine’s President Yassir Arafat tried to come to America. They also criticized the president for allowing the release of nearly $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds in order to bring five imprisoned Americans home.
Biden ignored the calls from lawmakers and allowed the Butcher of Iran to fly to the US to attend the UN meeting.
Copyright 2023, UnitedVoice.com
