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Bennett: World Powers Must ‘Wake Up’ in Light of Iranian Election Results
Ebrahim Raisi speaks after casting his ballot at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2021. Ebrahim Raisi won Iran's presidential race with over 60% of votes. (Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Bennett: World Powers Must ‘Wake Up’ in Light of Iranian Election Results

Israel reacts to hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi's presidential victory and gears up to influence US on nuclear agreement talks

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday commented on the results of Friday’s presidential election in Iran, which saw hard-liner front-runner Ebrahim Raisi easily cruise to victory.

“Of all the people Khamenei could have chosen, he chose the ‘Butcher of Tehran’,” Bennett said during his week-old government’s first Cabinet meeting, referring to the former judiciary chief by his Israeli nickname.

“This is the man notorious in Iran and across the entire world for his role in the [1988] death committees that oversaw the executions of protesters and opposition activists,” Bennett also said.

Less than 24 hours after Raisi was declared the winner and announced as the Islamic Republic’s president-elect, Iranian officials met with European and Russian diplomats in Vienna to continue their sixth round of negotiations over a possible renewal of the nuclear deal known as the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

European mediators have been shuttling between the Iranian camp and American representatives, as the two sides seek to agree on mechanisms ensuring a mutual return to compliance with the defunct nuclear deal.

“Raisi’s selection is a signal to world powers to wake up,” Bennett warned, calling the hard-liner’s election “perhaps the last signal before the nuclear deal is renewed, for the world to realize who it’s dealing with and what kind of regime they choose to empower.”

“A regime of hangmen must never be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction that will enable it to not kill thousands, but millions. That is Israel’s clear and consistent position,” the prime minister concluded.

Iran’s latest presidential race was marred with controversy, as sweeping disqualifications of moderate candidates by the country’s Guardian Council, as well as a continued economic downturn, led to widespread protests and a record low 48.8% voter turnout on Friday.

“God willing, we will do our best so that the hope for the future now alive in people’s hearts grows further,” Raisi, 60, said after learning of the results. He vowed to work for a “bright and pleasant life” for all Iranians and to strengthen public trust in government.

More than ever, Iran’s nuclear program must be halted immediately, rolled back entirely and stopped indefinitely. Iran’s ballistic missile program must be dismantled and its global terror campaign vigorously countered by a broad international coalition

“After the Supreme Leader effectively dictated to the Iranian public who they could choose, less than 50% of Iranian citizens eligible to vote have elected its most extremist president to date,” a spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry told The Media Line in a statement.

“[Raisi’s] election makes clear Iran’s true malign intentions, and should prompt grave concern among the international community,” the statement said.

“More than ever, Iran’s nuclear program must be halted immediately, rolled back entirely and stopped indefinitely. Iran’s ballistic missile program must be dismantled and its global terror campaign vigorously countered by a broad international coalition,” the ministry said.

Raisi is considered closely aligned with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and even viewed as a potential heir apparent to the 81-year-old ruler of Iran.

While his election was sharply condemned by rights groups such as Amnesty International and Humans Rights Watch, Western countries preferred to remain silent over the weekend, hoping to not rock the boat before an agreement is secured in Vienna.

“Iranians have been deprived of their right to choose their own leaders through a free and fair electoral process,” the United States State Department said in a statement Saturday.

Other global actors, such as Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and some Gulf nations, all called to congratulate Tehran’s new leader or issued warm public statements, expressing hope for cooperation and friendship with the new premier.

A regime of hangmen should not be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction. That is Israel’s clear and consistent position

A spokesperson for Hamas, the Palestinian group that runs the Gaza Strip and is designated a terror organization by the US and Israel, wished Iran “progress and prosperity.”

“From an Israeli standpoint, the new president doesn’t necessarily change much. He’ll be expected to deliver more on the domestic side, salvaging the economy, rather than regional affairs,” Professor Uzi Rabi, director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and a senior researcher at the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University, told The Media Line.

“He’s already said that if [Khamenei] determines that a nuclear agreement is the right step, then that’s what will happen,” Rabi said.

“I believe they’ll hold out till at least Aug. 3, when Raisi and his national security council are officially sworn in, and then start advancing toward finalizing the deal while trying to attain as much as possible,” Rabi projects.

“That means Israel has a window of about a month and a half to influence the talks, to persuade the Americans that when they say ‘longer and stronger,’ they actually deliver. Like ensuring firm expiry dates, implementing robust monitoring and inspection mechanisms, not allow Iran to cheat like last time.”

 

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