Many believe that the election of Ebrahim Raisi as president of Iran constitutes an existential threat to both human rights and United States-Iran relations, reports say.

CBN reported that the results of the Iranian presidential election were revealed over the weekend.

Former Iranian judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi was declared winner, the International Christian Coalition (ICC) said but noted that the Iranian presidential election of 2021 was marred by widespread corruption and unusually low voter participation.

Because of extensive electoral manipulation by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khameini, ICC asserted that Raisi, a conservative hardliner, easily defeated the country's lone moderate rival. Every candidate who had a chance of competing with Raisi was disqualified by a body of authorities under the authority of the Khameini in the months preceding up to election day.

This was confirmed by CBN who spoke with Iranian scholar Thamar Elam Gidin from the University of Haif, who described the race as "a one-man race."

"Anyone who could have threatened his victory was screened by the Guardian Council about a month ago so they wouldn't get in the way. He didn't run for president. He was run for president. He was pushed by other forces," she said.

After working as a prosecutor and serving on notorious execution panels in the 1980s, the new president received the title "the Hangman of Tehran."

"He's a man with the blood of thousands of Iranians on his hands. He was a member of the death committees in the 1980s. He sentenced thousands of people to death. They are the mass murders of 1988 that were buried in common graves without even marking," Gidin said.

For political subversion, Raisi assisted in the execution of nearly 30,000 Iranians in 1988, as part of an administrative death panel that met for just a few minutes each time. Raisi's reputation as one of the world's most famous executioners grew during his tenure as Judiciary Chief, when he oversaw the execution of over 620 Iranians, the majority of whom were political dissidents or members of minorities.

Additionally, Raisi has relied extensively on cruel floggings as a means of fighting subversion, particularly against Christians who have converted to the faith. Raisi's human rights abuses mirror the widespread persecution and repression that Iranians are subjected to by their own government.

ICC, which monitors human rights abuses and persecution worldwide, said that Raisi's government presents a serious threat to human rights in the country as well as Iran's ties with the United States of America.

In a crucial period for ties between the United States and Iran, Raisi's reluctance to engage with the United States has come as a surprise to the Biden administration, which is contemplating re-enacting the Iran Nuclear Deal and removing the economic penalties against Iran that were imposed by the Trump administration.

President Biden believes that by paying Iran for good conduct, the Iranian government would be deterred from acquiring nuclear weapons, which would have very serious consequences for the stability and security of the whole Middle East if successful.

Human rights experts, on the other hand, are worried that an "incentive-based foreign policy" toward Iran would hinder the United States from addressing the terrible persecution that the Iranian regime is promoting. The election of Raisi simply serves to exacerbate these concerns.

According to a recommendation made by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) this year, Iran should be classified as a Country of Particular Concern due to the persecution of religious minorities inside the country's boundaries.

(Photo taken from Mehr News Agency via Wikimedia Commons)