Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took the oath before parliament. He is closely associated with the supreme spiritual and political leader Ayatollah and, with his presidency, Reuters reported, all branches of power in the country will be controlled by “anti-Western hardliners and loyal to Alim Khamenei officials.”
– In the presence of the Holy Qur’an and in front of the nation, I swear by almighty God to protect the official religion of the country and the Islamic Republic, as well as the country’s constitution, said Ebrahim Raisi to MPs and foreign guests during Thursday’s presidential swearing-in ceremony broadcast live on state television.
Raisi promised to fight Western sanctions by pledging to take steps to lift restrictions that limited Iranian oil exports and shut down the country’s international banking system. – The Iranian people expect the new government to improve their living conditions. All illegal US sanctions against the Iranian people must be lifted, he said, swearing to serve the nation and improve relations with its neighbors.
Raisi took the oath in the building of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (parliament) in Tehran. Earlier, Iranian officials said that over 100 representatives from 73 countries were to attend the ceremony. The celebration follows Tuesday’s event where Ayatollah Khamenei formally appointed Raisi president.
Ebrahim RaisiReuters
Victory over Rowhani
Raisi, the former head of the Iranian judiciary, has close ties to Ayatollah Khamenei. He won the June presidential election. The 60-year-old seminarian presented himself in the campaign as the best person to fight corruption and solve the economic problems Iran struggled with under the reign of the outgoing president, the relatively moderate clergyman Hasan Rowhani.
Many Iranians and human rights activists point to the alleged role of Raisi in the mass executions of political prisoners in the 1980s.
Raisi, wearing a black turban, which in the Shiite tradition means he is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, followed in his father’s footsteps and at the age of 15 began attending a seminary in the holy city of Com.
During his studies, he participated in protests against the West-backed Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was finally overthrown in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The system of power in IranPAP
Main photo source: Reuters