Iranian dissidents gather to protest Raisi at UN

Several thousand Iranian anti-regime activists gathered outside the United Nations on September 21 to protest Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s speech to the General Assembly, call for regime change and show support for widespread demonstrations that have rocked Iran in recent days.

The protesters gathered at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, directly across from UN headquarters, as Raisi delivered a speech to world leaders. Organizers put the number of participants at 3,000, The Times of Israel reports.

Signs lining the plaza called for "Regime change by Iranians", and hundreds of photos of executed political prisoners were on display. Standing amid the photos, two protesters wearing grotesque, oversize masks depicting Raisi and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held chains and a noose to symbolise the imprisonment and hanging of Iranian dissidents.

The protesters said Raisi is guilty of crimes against the Iranian people and an illegitimate leader since Iran does not hold free and fair elections.

"Raisi does not deserve a seat at the UN and he’s not the president of the people of Iran. Raisi is a mass murderer,” said activist Raha Heshmatikhah. "It's horrible and unethical that an institution like the UN is welcoming and allowing Raisi to take a seat and be there."

"He’s a huge criminal in Iranian history and he should be held accountable because the impunity he's enjoying is bringing all the terror to the country," she said.

"It’s shameful that he is here because if he goes to the United States he’s going to be legitimized and then all the other countries will invite him," said [protester] Batool Zamani.

Israel's envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, walked out of Raisi's speech and called his appearance "a new moral low for the UN".