Who Is This New Iranian Leader?

Over the weekend, Iran elected a new president who will take office in August – Ebrahim Raisi. The United States has had an individual sanction on Raisi for the past two years for his close ties to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Raisi is responsible for killing thousands of Iran’s innocent citizens and committing some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable.

This is an extremely bold move by Iran. Even bolder, the Biden Administration is still pressing forward with trying to reenter the Iran nuclear deal and lift sanctions on Iran. But who are they doing business with?

Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described just how bad Ebrahim Raisi is:

"This weekend, Iran chose a new president – Ebrahim Raisi. Of all the people that Khamenei could have chosen, he chose the “Hangman of Tehran,” the man infamous among Iranians and across the world for leading the Death Committees, which executed thousands of innocent Iranian citizens throughout the years."

ACLJ Senior Advisor for National Security and Foreign Policy and former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell called out the insanity of continuing these negotiations the new Iranian regime:

"Let’s think about it. We are negotiating with somebody who is under sanctions restrictions from the United States. This is a real problem. And I think that what you’re going to find is the Biden Administration is going to be in a corner very soon. They’re going to realize the Iranians are not coming forward with any new ideas and are not coming forward to somehow show that they have been honest. The only deal that is going to be offered is a deal where they continue to work towards programs that develop a nuclear weapon and we’ve got to pray and hope and keep pressure on the Biden Administration that they reject the offer that’s coming towards them."

Biden National Security Advisor and a chief architect for the first Iran nuclear deal under the Obama Administration, Jake Sullivan, explained the Biden Administration’s take on the new Iranian president:

"Well, of course, we vigorously object to the worldview and the outlook that Raisi has put forward. We don’t share his values. We don’t share his interests. But . . . we also have to keep our eye on the ball. The person who will call the shots on Iran’s nuclear program is not Raisi. It’s the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei . . . . He’s the guy who ultimately will make the decision about whether Iran accepts the constraints on its nuclear program that will ensure that it does not get a nuclear weapon. That’s what we are testing right now. That’s what our diplomacy is all about. And we are determined to prevent Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon."

Turning the responsibility to the Supreme Leader does not change the threat of this new president. After all, the Supreme Leader hand-picked Raisi to lead the way for a reason.

ACLJ Senior Military Analyst Wes Smith mentioned in his new article and summed it up best:

"There is a lot of violence potentially flaring on the horizon. And the Biden team in Vienna and Washington, D.C. is either incredibly naive or I don’t know what, because they are turning a blind eye to what is really going on, who Iran really is, and what the repercussions will be for the region and the world."

This is a clear signal to the U.S. and the world. The idea that the U.S. would continue to negotiate with Iran after we know the type of leader it has elected is preposterous. How can we have negotiations with someone who has blood on their hands for killing their own people and empower them on the world stage? The more the Biden Administration has engaged with Iran, the more violence Iran has created.

Today’s full Sekulow broadcast is complete with even more analysis of Iran’s newly elected president and the Biden Administration’s plan to continue negotiations with Iran.