Details added (first version posted on 17:43)
Iran, Tehran Aug. 4 / Trend T. Jafarov /
Iran's newly elected president Hassan Rouhani has sworn in today in the country's parliament in presence of the Head of Iran's Judicial System Sadeg Larijani.
The official ceremony of inauguration of new Iranian president has begun today at 16:00 (local time) in Tehran.
"In the name of God, I swear as president before the holy Quran and the Iranian nation to God, to protect Iran's official religion, Iran's regime, constitution, and fulfill my talents and qualifications for serving people and country's advancement and promotion of religion and morality, and support of right and justice, and refraining from dictatorship and protect individual freedom and respect of people and their legal rights and do my best to protect country's political, cultural and economic independency and borders, and to keep the power which people have given me as sacred trust and hold it for the next president," Rouhani said, signing the text afterwards.
After signing the text, Rouhani spoke to the officials and the attendees of the inauguration ceremony.
"I ask the almighty God to open the doors of his blessings to the great nation of Iran, to determine the destiny for the peope and for the whole country," Rouhani said.
"The people at June 14 elections created a great epic. The great nation of Iran, which experienced great hardship, ups and downs, it was full of hope. The founder of Islamic revolution Imam Khomeini said everything must be based on people's votes, so today based on their votes, signed by the leader of Islamic revolution, I have sworn to carry out my duties as the president," he noted.
"People at the elections have clearly shown what kind of policy, thoughts and ideology they want for continuation of the Islamic revolution," Rouhani said. "All those who voted for me, those who voted for others, and even those who did not attend the elections, they're all Iranian citizens and they have equal citizen rights. The government feels obliged to carry out demands of all those people."
Rouhani further spoke of moderation and wisdom, noting that moderation means balance, meaning taking national interests over party interests.
"The basis for this kind of thought is distancing from hallucinations and illusions, and concentrating on transparency. The threats must be reduced and the opportunities must be increased, to fill in social and economic gaps," Rouhani underscored.
Iranian president also said that the new government would restore the chances for women, which is the priority, so they could be playing various roles in different fields.
"The key goal is to fight discrimination and corruption. We must join forces to fight against corruption, to increase welfare and further develop technology progress," Rouhani said.
"We need to trust the non-government organizations, we need to trust the people, to talk to them honestly, so that they would feel responsible and would want to play a role. Such a framework would be basis for growth, social freedoms. The government needs to correct the structure, so the people would be able to grow, and their efforts would eventually lead to national development," he said, adding that Iran is the center of stability in the chaotic region.
Further, the president of the Islamic republic said that Iran doesn't have any thoughts of going at war with the world.
"Sanctions and threats of war cannot lead the Iranian nation to give up. Interaction and co-operation are our basics for relations with other countries," Rouhani said. "If one wants to get a positive answer from Iran, it is only possible through respect, not through sanctions."
Rouhani also warned about the unimportant marginal issues that may distract from the main goal.
Numerous representatives of other countries were present at the inauguration ceremony. The delegations included presidents, prime ministers, vice presidents and parliament speakers. This is the first time that Iran has invited foreign officials to attend the presidential inauguration ceremony.
On August 3, Rouhani met with the Leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who officially endorsed Hassan Rohani as the country's new president for a four-year term.
On 14 June 2013, Hassan Rouhani won the presidential elections in Iran, gathering over 50 percent of total votes.
