ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/EPA -
Iranian President Hasan Rouhani speaks after being sworn
in for a four-year presidential term at the parliament, in
Tehran, Iran, August 4, 2013.
By Associated
Press,
Published: August 3
TEHRAN, Iran —
Iran’s new president on Sunday called on the
West to abandon the “language of sanctions” in
dealing with the Islamic Republic over its
contentious nuclear program, hoping to ease the
economic pressures now grinding its people.
President Hasan Rouhani spoke after being
sworn in as president in an open session of
parliament, capping a weekend that saw him
endorsed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s
supreme leader.
Rouhani, a moderate cleric who won a landslide victory in the
June 14 presidential elections, continued his call for dialogue
with the West while asking foreign powers to respect Iran in its
negotiations.
“If you seek a suitable answer, speak to Iran through the
language of respect, not through the language of sanctions,” the
president said in a speech broadcast live by Iranian state
television. He later added that any negotiations would require
“bilateral trust building, mutual respect and the lessening of
hostilities.”
Iran is under United Nations sanctions as well as unilateral
Western oil and banking sanctions over its refusal to halt
uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to power
reactors producing electricity or build nuclear weapons.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and geared towards
generating electricity and producing radioisotopes to treat
cancer patients.
Rouhani replaces President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who struck a
hard-line approach when dealing with the West and its sanctions
over the nuclear program. The sanctions have hit the country’s
vital oil exports and blocked transactions on international
banking networks. Inflation is running at more than 35 percent.
The Iranian rial has lost more than two-thirds of its value
against the U.S. dollar since late 2011.
Many Iranians and foreign diplomats hope that Rouhani, a
former top nuclear negotiator, can strike a more conciliatory
tone in negotiations. Those hopes could be seen by the
attendance at his swearing in, as the audience included leaders
and other representatives from more than 50 countries. It was
the first time since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution that foreign
dignitaries attended the swearing-in ceremony of an Iranian
president.
In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said
Rouhani’s inauguration represented “an opportunity for Iran to
act quickly to resolve the international community’s deep
concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.”
“Should this new government choose to engage substantively
and seriously to meet its international obligations and find a
peaceful solution to this issue, it will find a willing partner
in the United States,” Carney said in a statement.
During his speech, Rouhani said Iran opposes “any change in
political systems through foreign intervention.” Iran is a close
ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose country remains in
the grips of a bloody two-year civil war. Assad’s government has
received fighters from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, helping
government forces gain ground in recent weeks.
“Peace and stability in all neighboring regions is a need and
necessity for Iran,” Rouhani said.
Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported Sunday that
Rouhani told Syria’s prime minister that no force in the world
would shake the alliance between the two countries. Syria has
been Tehran’s strongest ally in the Arab world since Iran’s 1979
Islamic Revolution.
Rouhani also said that Iran is “not after changing borders
and governments.” He did not elaborate, but it appeared to be a
reference to Israel, which other Iranian leaders have demanded
be destroyed in the past.
Meanwhile, Rouhani also presented a list of ministers he
wants for his Cabinet to parliament. The core of his team has
figures whose academic pedigrees include institutions in
California, Washington and London.
Rouhani proposed Mohammad Javad Zarif, a diplomat at Iran’s
U.N. Mission in New York for five years, to serve as foreign
minister. He also proposed Mahmoud Alavi, a cleric and former
lawmaker, as minister of intelligence and Hossein Dehghan, a
former commander in the powerful Revolutionary Guards, as
defense minister. Others include officials who served in the
administrations of both reformist President Mohammad Khatami and
centrist President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Khamenei, however, has final say in all key matters,
including Rouhani’s key Cabinet posts. On Saturday, Rouhani
received a kiss on the forehead from Khamenei, a blessing from
the supreme leader.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright
2013 Associated Press. All rights
reserved.
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