Ebrahim Raisi will take steps to lift “Tyrannical” sanctions of US on Iran

Tel Aviv: Iran’s headstrong incoming president, Ebrahim Raisi, said on Tuesday he would take steps to lift the “tyrannical” sanctions forced by the United States of America, following gaining the formal approval of the country’s sovereignty later this week, to accept his office.

Raisi, who is undergoing personal US sanctions over allegations of human rights violations in his past as a judge, has vowed to improve the living conditions of Iranians, who have worsened since 2018 when Washington reinstated sanctions against Iran after dropping a nuclear deal.

“We will seek to lift the tyrannical sanctions imposed by the United States,” Raisi, who was elected in June to replace pragmatist Hassan Rouhani in a vote in which additional high-profile nominees were rejected, said in a televised address.

Iran and six powers have been in discussions since April to restore the nuclear deal. Iranian and Western officials have said significant gaps persist. The sixth round of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna was postponed on June 20, and the parties have yet to announce when they will recommence.

The chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has the last word on all state affairs, but the change of president will remove the moderate influence on the policies that Rouhani has been pursuing since 2013.

Raisi is sworn in on Thursday and then has a week to submit his cabinet to parliament for a vote of confidence.

Raisi, who was appointed by Khamenei to run the judiciary in 2019, was placed under US sanctions a few months succeeding for the role he avowedly played in the killings of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. Iran has never carried out the killings do not recognize.

Since his election, Raisi, 60, has publicly addressed the allegations for the first time, saying US sanctions have been imposed on him for doing his job as a judge. Dissidents fear his presidency could cause more repression at home.