In Tehran, the capital of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi has been sworn in as Iran’s eighth president.
At the ceremony in the country’s parliament in Tehran on Thursday, August 5th 2021, Raisi, with a hand on a Quran, read the inauguration oath before adding that he will make Iran stronger and engage with the world.
The 60-year-old Raisi, who is a frontrunner to replace the 82-year-old Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iranians want him to maintain the country’s independence and resist what he called foreign bullying.
But he also promised to pursue “diplomacy and constructive and extend engagement with the global community, reiterating his stance that boosting relations with regional neighbours would be at the top of his foreign policy.
He told some 260 local and foreign officials present at the chamber that regional crises need to be resolved through dialogue, and that the presence of foreign forces only encourages more instability.
Countering rhetoric by the West, Israel and some Arab neighbours, Raisi also asserted that Iran’s presence in the region creates security and supports peace and stability.
He also said harsh US sanctions, imposed in 2018 after then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, must be lifted.
According to him, Iran will support any diplomatic plans that will achieve this goal, signalling that he will continue negotiations in Vienna aimed at restoring the accord.
Moreover, he promised that Iran’s nuclear programme is strictly peaceful and that nuclear weapons have no place in the country’s defence strategy.
The president tried to convey that he understands the many challenges ahead – including a troubled economy – and said he will try to improve the quality of life for all Iranians.
He further promised to be a true defender of human rights, not just in Iran but across the region.
This follows calls on Thursday by Amnesty International for Raisi to be criminally investigated for his role in the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.
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