Pezeshkian is expected to unveil his government within two weeks
Tehran, Iran:
Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in before parliament on Tuesday as the Islamic republic’s ninth president in a ceremony attended by foreign dignitaries.
Pezeshkian won a second race on July 5 against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili to replace President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
Tuesday’s ceremony came two days after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei officially backed Pezeshkian and gave the 69-year-old heart surgeon presidential powers.
“I as president, before the Holy Quran and the people of Iran, swear by Almighty God that I will be the guardian of the official religion, the system of the Islamic Republic and the constitution of the country,” Pezeshkian said at the ceremony . broadcast live on state television.
Pezeshkian, who is expected to unveil his government within two weeks, had secured more than 16 million votes in the runoff, or about 54 percent of the roughly 30 million votes cast.
The Iranian presidential elections took place against the backdrop of heightened regional tensions since the start of the Gaza war in early October, disputes with Western powers over Iran’s nuclear program and domestic dissatisfaction over the state of the sanctions-hit economy.
Tuesday’s ceremony was attended by senior officials from several countries, including Armenia, Tajikistan, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Cuba and Brazil.
European Union envoy Enrique Mora was also present.
Regional Iranian-backed allies were also present, namely Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad chief Ziyad al-Nakhalah.
The Lebanese Hezbollah movement was represented by the group’s deputy secretary general, Naim Qassem, while Yemen’s Huthi rebels sent a spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam.
‘Death to Israel’
Haniyeh and Nakhalah, whose groups have been fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, met with Khamenei and Pezeshkian.
“Supporting the cause of the oppressed Palestinian nation will continue with vigor, and no factor can shake our will in this direction,” Pezeshkian said in a statement Monday.
Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony came amid concerns about a war between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah following a rocket attack Saturday from Lebanon on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of responsibility for the attack that killed 12 children, but the Iran-backed Lebanese group has denied any involvement.
During Tuesday’s ceremony, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf delivered a speech denouncing Israel’s “crimes” in Gaza.
Some Iranians present in parliament chanted: “Death to Israel, death to America.”
Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause a centerpiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and has welcomed Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
The Iranian president is not head of state, and ultimate authority rests with the supreme leader – a position Khamenei has held for the past 35 years.
On Monday, Pezeshkian warned Israel against an attack on Lebanon, saying such an act would have “dire consequences.”
Since his election, Iran’s new president has reaffirmed his support for the so-called “axis of resistance,” Tehran-affiliated groups such as Hezbollah and the Huthis, which support Hamas in the fight against arch-enemy Israel.
Pezeshkian was the only candidate representing Iran’s reformist camp allowed to run in Iran’s presidential elections, for which all contenders were endorsed by the conservative-dominated Guardian Council.
During his campaign, the former health minister had pledged to try to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that collapsed in 2018 after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord.
The deal had given Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities.
Pezeshkian recently called for “constructive relations” with European countries, even as he accused them of reneging on commitments to soften the impact of renewed US sanctions.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)