US Congresswoman Claudia Tenney penned an angry letter to the EU’s top foreign diplomat to express concern over its decision to send a senior official to the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
Tenney lamented the decision to celebrate Ebrahim Raisi, whom she described as a “murderer”.
Tenney called on High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell to “uphold the European Union’s human rights principles and stand with the Iranian people rather than honor and empower their corrupt and abusive oppressors”.
The EU sent Enrique Mora, the political body’s point man for ongoing discussions with Iran over its nuclear program, to attend Raisi’s swearing-in ceremony last week.
Tenney stressed concern because Raisi “has an abhorrent human rights record and was elected in a sham election”.
The letter is gaining support from Tenney’s fellow congressmen, including representatives Scott Perry, Tim Burchett and Stephanie Bice.
She accused the EU of seeking to “legitimize” the election by “sending a senior representative to Raisi’s inauguration”.
She branded the decision “baffling and irresponsible”.
“An institution like the European Union, which purportedly seeks to uphold democratic ideals, should be condemning this election, not legitimizing the sham process,” she fumed.
It was also claimed that the bloc’s presence at the ceremony “whitewashes” and “minimizes” Raisi’s “brutal history”.
The letter also noted the Iranian regime’s role in a “fatal drone strike” on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman.
“These destabilizing attacks confirm that the regime lacks the necessary legitimacy and ability to be considered a reliable and trustworthy member of the international community,” Tenney wrote.
“It is disgraceful and extraordinarily disheartening that the European Union continues to tout its support of human rights and democratic principles abroad, yet simultaneously honors a murderer who has killed thousands of his people and came to power in an election that was neither free nor fair.”
She called on the EU to investigate the regime’s crimes and “uphold its moral high ground and human rights principles”.
“The European Union must stand up for its democratic commitments and support the brave Iranian people, who have been oppressed by the Iranian regime for long enough,” the Congresswoman concluded.
President Raisi was sworn into office last week, two months after his election victory. Critics claimed the landslide victory was a result of many of the top contenders being blocked from running.
Raisi was once a member of the Central Committee of Iran’s “death commissions”.
He has a history of ordering mass executions of opponents of the Iranian regime in 1988. These include the execution of political prisoners, some of whom were pregnant women and teenage girls.
