Iranian-born actress and political activist Nazanin Boniadi has spoken out against President Ebrahim Raisi as he continues his propaganda mission at the United Nations.

She addressed the brutal suppression of protesters in the last year of unrest in the wake of the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini which has led to the deaths of hundreds in the hands of security forces. "You speak of human dignity, but you starve your own people… You speak of peace, but your security forces unleash brutality on citizens when they rise unarmed to demand justice."

Boniadi drew attention to the regional chaos the regime's militias are causing, in the Middle East and beyond: "You proudly proclaim your anti-imperialist views and condemn proxy wars and boots on the ground, while the Islamic Republic trains, finances, and arms militias throughout the Middle East, as well as supports Russia’s war against Ukraine."

Her rousing speech touched on the "mass graves" of protesters sent to the gallows, families unable to bury their loved ones, bulldozed by the regime to "pretend they never existed".

In contrast, during his address to the UN General Assembly, President Ebrahim Raisi shifted blame onto foreign nations, accusing them of conducting a propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic. He made only indirect references to the 2022 anti-regime protests, describing them as the most extensive media onslaught in Western history.