UNITED NATIONS, New York – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) calling for “justice” and “democracy” as protests outside the United Nations and inside Iran itself demand an end to a regime that many citizens say does not represent their country. As protests continue in Iran, Raisi claimed that Iran continues to fight injustice. “All the hopes and aspirations of humanity are based on justice and have the ability to create such a framework of comprehensive justice, which means eliminating injustice,” Raisi said. “We are the defenders of a struggle against injustice in all its forms, against humanity, against spirituality, against the Almighty, against the people of the world.” Protests erupted across Iran following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by morality police for not wearing her hijab (headscarf). Police rushed Amini to hospital shortly after she fell into a coma during her detention, claiming she had collapsed. But her family said they saw evidence of a beating. Iran Cuts Social Media, Internet Services As President Raisi Addresses UN Amid Wider Protests Amini died three days later, and police deny that Amini was killed. Women join a rally in Dag Hammarskjold Park to demand regime change and protest Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s presence at the UN (John Mantel for Fox News Digital) But her death sparked protests across Tehran, with hundreds demonstrating at Amini’s funeral and more demonstrations set to begin over the next two days. Iranian officials have reportedly cut internet service for phones and shut down social media, including Facebook, in an attempt to curb the protests. At least five protesters have died as police try to clear the streets. Raisi, instead of addressing the crisis in his country, attended the 77th General Assembly despite calls from critics and survivors of the 1988 “death panel” for the US to deny the Iranian president a visa to enter the country. He spoke of the “progress” Iran has made, using its platform to air a range of grievances against other countries. “The Islamic Revolution in Iran was the beginning of the movement of a great nation of Iran to seek its own place in the world, and over the decades, we have faced foreign conspiracies such as coup d’état, oppressive sanctions, as well as hegemonic interventions,” Raisi said. “None of the achievements of the Iranian nation have been accepted by the major powers since the time when the first president of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.” CALCULATION OF THE PRIORITY OF THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL OVER HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES But many citizens of Iran do not accept that the current regime has many “successes” to speak of. Protesters at Dag Hammarskjold Park across from the UN told Fox News that Digital Raisi had no right to speak at the General Assembly as he does not represent the people. And Raisi reportedly participated in the death commission, which may have killed as many as 30,000 dissidents and prisoners. Survivors on the panel on Tuesday filled the park with the photos of 2,000 of those victims and told Fox News Digital they saw Raisi and directly blame him for the deaths of their families and friends. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi displays a photo of General Qassem Soleimani (Peter Aitken for Fox News Digital) A protester on Wednesday said everyone in Iran knows “someone” who has fallen victim to the regime. “Raishi is not the president of the Iranian people and he is a mass murderer,” said Raha, a Dutch-born Iranian who lives in the US. “He is responsible for the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners … and, again, he proved how horrible and how monstrous he can be when, in 2019, he suppressed national protests in Iran.” ISIS IS A THREAT TO THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE, IRAQ’S FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS IN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Raha said that despite what Raishi said, Iran “does not stand up for justice.” Haisi, a student who moved to the US with her family, spoke about the problems her family faced and her own harrowing incident at the age of 13 when she was almost arrested for violating the hijab law. Two women strongly demonstrate their disdain for the current Iranian regime during a demonstration in Dag Hammerskjold Park opposite the UN headquarters. (John Mantel for Fox News Digital) “I was on the streets and I wasn’t wearing my hijab properly, so one of the women from the vans came and grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the van, and finally I made it and stuff… But this is a very common thing that happens in Iran,” Haishi said. “My friends and I were always afraid of getting arrested.” But instead of responding to those problems, Raisi spent large stretches of his speech deflecting and insisting that other nations should deal with their own human rights issues before raising issues with Iran. He cited the dark history of Canadian boarding schools and the deaths of hundreds of First Nation children and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as examples of problems that world powers are “running away from.” IRANIAN POLICE OPEN FIRE ON PROTESTERS PROTESTING ALLEGED KILLING OF WOMAN OVER HIJAB LAW: REPORT “Of course, the implementation of justice and fairness is quite challenging and difficult, and perhaps because of this many of those who claim to be on the side of peace, escape the responsibility of peace,” Raisi said. “So we say to them: If you don’t want to shoulder the burden, don’t you even want to shoulder the burden of the struggle against oppression?” Foreign Desk editor-in-chief Lisa Daftari said it was “no surprise” to see Raisi try to accuse the US and its allies of allegedly “supporting terrorism”. People gather in Dag Hammarskjold Park opposite the UN headquarters to protest against Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who addressed the General Assembly on Wednesday. (Peter Aitken for Fox News Digital) “For someone nicknamed the ‘butcher of Tehran’ to travel to New York and make such accusations while the US and European delegations sat and listened is really indicative of how bold Iran’s rogue regime has become,” said Notebook at Fox News Digital. . “This is a man who has the innocent blood of his own people on his hands and yet stands on the podium spewing lies about how he believes in human rights for all.” Daftari noted that Raisi did not support his own people at all, only the Palestinian people, who he said were victims of Israeli “tyranny.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Outside the doors of the UN, something very different was happening,” Daftari said. “Protesters from across the country traveled to New York to protest Raisi’s visit and to try to show reporters and other bystanders that the Iranian regime’s brutal crimes, such as the killing of a 22-year-old girl for showing her hair , should not be forgotten instead of some manufactured diplomatic debate within the UN” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital that the administration missed an opportunity by allowing Raisi to come to the U.S. “The failure to deny Raisi a visa, particularly after the brutal killing of Mahsha Amini, was a missed opportunity for the Biden administration to put its money on Iran and human rights,” Taleblou said. Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news.
