Raisi says Iran's security directly linked with security of neighbouring nations

President Ebrahim Raisi has said that stability throughout the region is important to Tehran.

During his speech at the annual debate of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 20, the Iranian president noted that Iran's security is directly linked to the security of its neighbouring countries and criticized Western powers for what he said was an open attempt to undermine stability in the region.

According to Raisi, the world is close to a “critical point”, with non-Western states seeking to strengthen economic and political ties, resulting in the formation of a new world order: “The global landscape is undergoing a paradigm shift towards an emerging new international order, a trajectory that is irreversible."

Noting that history is at a critical juncture, he said that Western hegemony “no longer resonates with the realities of today’s world”, that the former liberal order has been “relegated to obsolescence” and that “attempts to universalize American ideals throughout the world” have failed.  Instead, there exists a collective hope for the creation of a novel, equitable world order — central to which is abandoning global arrogance in favour of regional cooperation. 

Further, according to him, the formation of East-West divides should not be permitted, nor should be making trade corridors unsafe, stifling the economic progress of sovereign nations or fomenting proxy wars.  Noting that these actions — ironically — are conducted in the name of defending Western democracy, he said that the global community has discerned the true essence of such democracy — “nothing more than a velvet glove hiding a cast-iron hand”.