DUBAI: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took the oath of office before parliament on Thursday.
The cleric formally started his four-year term on Tuesday when supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed his victory in the June election, when most prominent rivals were barred from standing.
With Raisi’s presidency, all branches of power in Iran will be controlled by those loyal to Khamenei.
“In the presence of the holy Quran and before the nation, I swear to the omnipotent God to safeguard the official religion of the country and the Islamic Republic as well as the country’s constitution,” Raisi told parliament and foreign dignitaries in a ceremony broadcast live on state television.
Raisi has pledged to take steps to lift broader sanctions that have cut Iran’s oil exports and shut it out of the international banking system.
“The Iranian people expect the new government to improve their livelihoods... All illegal US sanctions against the Iranian nation must be lifted,” Raisi said after being sworn in, vowing to serve the nation and improve ties with its neighbours.
Iran has been negotiating with six major powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal abandoned three years ago by then US president Donald Trump, who said it was too soft on Tehran.
Under the deal, Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of international sanctions, but Trump withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. Tehran has since breached limits imposed on its nuclear activities under the agreement.
Like Khamenei, Raisi has endorsed the nuclear talks, but he is widely expected to adopt a tougher line in talks that have stalled. The supreme leader has the last say on all state matters including nuclear policy.
Iranian and Western officials have said significant gaps remain in the nuclear talks and have yet to announce when the talks will resume. With economic misery palpable at home and signs of growing anger among Iranians over economic hardships, breaking free of the US sanctions will be Raisi’s top economic goal, political analysts say.
— Reuters
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