'US Hegemonic System' Has 'Failed Miserably', Iran's Raisi Tells UN

Speaking at the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, City on Tuesday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi blasted US attempts to rule the world.

Raisi pointed to two recent examples of shocking incidents inside and outside the United States: the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, during which supporters of then-US President Donald Trump stormed the national legislature in an attempt to block certification of the recent election results, and the scenes last month of Afghans falling from the sides of US aircraft as US troops withdrew from Afghanistan.

"One clear message was sent to the world: the United States' hegemonic system has no credibility, whether inside or outside the country," Raisi said, adding that "not only the hegemonist and the idea of hegemony, but also the project of imposing Westernized identity, have failed miserably."

Raisi said the result of the US seeking hegemony has been "blood spilling and instability, and ultimately defeat and escape," noting the US has failed in its attempts to subdue countries across southwestern and central Asia. He also named US taxpayers who foot the bill of US wars as victims of this policy.

"The world doesn’t care about 'America First' or 'America is Back,'" the recently inaugurated Iranian leader said, referring respectively to the presidential slogans of Trump, who left office in January, and US President Joe Biden, who replaced him.

The Iranian president attacked the US' "double standards" of foreign policy, saying the US had helped to create terrorist groups in some places - giving the example of Daesh* in Syria, while fighting terrorism in others. He also noted the rise of domestic terrorist groups inside the United States and condemned US policy supporting the Saudi war in Yemen and the Israeli war and blockade of Gaza.

Raisi also said that US "maximum pressure" economic sanctions against Iran, which Washington left in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, are crimes against humanity. He called it "maximum tyranny" and condemned the US' unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018, which preceded the return of sanctions. However, he said he believes in the talks in Vienna that began earlier this year after Biden took office, at which both nations aim to negotiate a return to the nuclear deal.

The Iranian president traveled to New York for the annual UNGA meeting after attending a summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Iran was recently admitted to the regional diplomatic, military and trade pact, which includes a number of Eurasian nations including Pakistan, China, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan.

Speaking in Dushanbe on Saturday, Raisi touched on many of the same themes, celebrating the decline of unilateralism and hegemony. "The SCO can turn into a driving force for global multilateralism," he said. Tehran signed a number of new economic cooperation deals at the meeting, including eight with Tajikistan.

*Daesh (IS/ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia and other countries.