Ebrahim Raeisi takes oath of office at parliament as Iran’s eighth president

After having his mandate endorsed by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raeisi has taken the oath of office to be officially inaugurated as the eighth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Iranian parliament on Thursday afternoon, attended by high-ranking Iranian civil and military officials as well as a great number of foreign dignitaries from more than 70 countries.

The ceremony started with a speech by Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf followed by an address delivered by the head of Iran’s Judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei.

After speeches were delivered by heads of the Judiciary and Legislature, Ebrahim Raeisi took to the podium to be sworn in as Iran’s eighth president following the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

On Tuesday, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution officially endorsed Raeisi’s mandate as Iran’s new president through a ceremony in the capital city, weeks after the ex-Judiciary chief won the country’s 13th presidential election by a landslide.

In the decree, the Leader called on the new president to work toward activating the country’s capabilities and paving the way for a leap forward in all sectors, placing an especial emphasis on the economy.

Raeisi, the eighth president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, won almost 62 percent of the votes in the June 18 presidential election and will succeed President Hassan Rouhani, who served two four-year terms in office.

According to Seyyed Nezamoddin Mousavi, the spokesman for the Parliament’s presiding board, long lists of foreign officials and political figures have accepted Iran’s invitation to attend the event despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 100 officials from 73 countries took part in Raeisi’s inauguration ceremony, including 10 heads of state, 20 parliament speakers, 11 foreign ministers, and 10 ministers, as well as special envoys, deputy parliament speakers, and chairmen of parliamentary commissions and parliamentary delegations.

A high-level delegation from the European Union (EU), led by the Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora, has participated in Raeisi’s inauguration. Mora is accompanied by Stephan Klement, head of the EU delegation to the international organizations in Vienna, and Head of Task Force European Union Bruno Scholl.

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani is also taking part in Raeisi’s swearing-in ceremony.

A high-ranking delegation representing the Palestinian Hamas movement also arrived in the Iranian capital at dawn Thursday to attend the inauguration of president-elect Ibrahim Raeisi. The Hamas delegation is led by head of the movement’s political office, Ismail Haniyeh.

Syrian Parliament Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh is also present at new Iranian president’s inauguration ceremony, representing the Arab country’s President Bashar al-Assad.

The heads of 11 international and regional organizations and the representative of the UN chief; officials from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), including its President Duarte Pacheco; the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO); the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation also known as Developing-8 are also present at the event.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, President of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani and Serbia’s Parliament Speaker Ivica Dacic are among the guests at the inauguration ceremony.

Some 170 domestic and foreign journalists have been invited to provide coverage of the event.

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