Incoming Iranian president vows action to lift ‘tyrannical’ US sanctions

Incoming Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday said he would move to lift the “tyrannical” U.S. sanctions that have decimated Iran’s economy.

“We will seek to lift the tyrannical sanctions imposed by America,” Raisi said in a televised speech, Reuters reports. “But we will not tie the … economy to the will of foreigners.”

Raisi, a protégé of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is also under U.S. sanctions due to alleged human rights abuses. He is accused of playing a role in the execution of thousands of political prisoners. Iran has never formally acknowledged the deaths.

Shortly after he was elected, Raisi acknowledged the U.S. sanctions against him, Reuters reports, saying the U.S. had imposed them on him for doing his job as a judge.

Raisi is set to be sworn into office on Thursday. He will have one week to present his Cabinet to parliament for a vote of confidence.

Reuters notes that Raisi is expected to take “a hard line” approach to the nuclear negotiations taking place in Vienna. Raisi’s ascension to the presidency could complicate the ongoing talks, owing to his record on human rights, including allegedly disappearing political dissidents.

Outgoing President Hassan Rouhani, who was the architect of the original 2015 nuclear deal with countries including the U.S., has criticized Khamenei for not allowing his government to reenter the deal while he is in office.