Masoud Pezeshkian has taken oath as the new Iranian president in a ceremony that took place at Iran’s parliament on Tuesday.
Pezeshkian was the 9th president in the history of Iran who took the oath of office during the ceremony that began at 16:00 local time in the main hall of the Iranian parliament in Tehran today.
More than 70 foreign delegates, including senior officials and secretary generals of regional and international bodies, attended Iran’s President Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony, according to the state broadcaster.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Masoud Pezeshkian as Iran’s new president on Sunday who won the July 5 runoff.
He emerged victorious in the second round of the presidential election on July 5 defeating former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, garnering 53.7% of the vote, while Jalili received 44.3%, according to final results announced by the Interior Ministry.
The snap election was called shortly after President Ebrahim Raeisi lost his life in a tragic helicopter crash in May.
According to Mojtaba Yousefi, a member of the parliament’s presiding board, the president will have 15 days to present his proposed ministers to the parliament for a vote of confidence.
As per parliamentary rules, Pezeshkian will officially renounce his lawmaker mandate on July 31, Yousefi added.
Iran’s presidential election took place against a backdrop of heightened regional tensions since the Gaza war began in early October, disputes with Western powers over Iran’s nuclear programme and domestic discontent over the state of the sanctions-hit economy.
Tuesday’s ceremony was attended by senior officials from several countries including Armenia, Tajikistan, Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Cuba and Brazil.
European Union envoy Enrique Mora was also present.
Regional Iran-backed allies were also in attendance, namely Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the head of the Islamic Jihad Ziyad al-Nakhalah.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement was represented by the group’s deputy secretary general Naim Qassem while the Yemen’s Houthi rebels sent spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam.
