New Iranian president takes oath as nation's challenges mount

TEHERAN－New Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took the oath of office before lawmakers on Thursday as the country faces an economy battered by Western sanctions and thorny negotiations on its nuclear program.

The former judiciary chief, considered a hard-liner, officially began his four-year mandate on Tuesday when his presidency was endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Several foreign leaders, including the presidents of Iraq and Afghanistan and parliamentary speakers from Russia, South Africa and Syria, attended Thursday's ceremony.

Raisi took over from Hassan Rouhani, whose landmark achievement during his two-term presidency was the 2015 nuclear deal between the Islamic republic and world powers.

On Wednesday, in a meeting with Nurdinjon Ismailov, speaker of Uzbekistan's Legislative Chamber known as Oliy Majlis, Raisi said the pursuit of extensive interactions with neighboring countries would constitute one of his government's main foreign policy principles.

"There is countless potential for the development of relations between the two countries in different fields, especially economy," Raisi was quoted as saying by the Iranian Presidency's website.

Raisi has given priority to the enhancement of ties with neighboring countries and those farther afield in Asia and Latin America, as well as with other non-Western countries, in his foreign policy agenda, Iranian media said.

Difficulties ahead

Iran has been grappling with a deep economic and social crisis following then-president Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally withdraw the United States from the nuclear deal in 2018 and impose crushing sanctions.

"We believe the people's economic position is unfavorable, both because of the hostility of our enemies and because of the shortcomings and problems inside the country," Raisi said on Tuesday.

His new government would seek to lift "oppressive" sanctions, but would "not tie the nation's standard of living to the will of foreigners", he added.

The 60-year-old also faces warnings to Iran from the US, the United Kingdom and Israel over a deadly tanker attack last week. While Iran has denied responsibility for the attack, analysts said the incident has brought hostility between Iran and Israel to an all-time high.

The new president got to work on Wednesday, chairing a coronavirus task force meeting and also seeing ministers from the Rouhani administration, the presidency said.

Iranian media outlets said Raisi was also expected to present his proposed cabinet lineup ahead of a two-week deadline to do so.

European Union diplomat and nuclear deal negotiator Enrique Mora, who met Iran's outgoing Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Teheran on Wednesday, is among representatives from the bloc who arrived in Iran's capital, according to Iranian state media.

Six rounds of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers were held in Vienna between April and June in an attempt to revive the accord. The last round concluded on June 20.

Iran is also battling one of the deadliest outbreaks of COVID-19 in the Middle East, with more than 4 million cases.

Agencies - Xinhua