Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in yesterday for a second term in office, appealing for national unity and denouncing foreign interference in his inauguration speech before parliament.
Ahmadinejad took the oath and pledged to protect the Constitution, but his inauguration speech was unusually soft-toned for the bellicose Iranian leader. He focused on foreign policy, saying he would make it “stronger and with more effective new plans.”
“I hereby swear by the almighty God to protect the system of the Islamic Revolution and the Constitution, I will spare no effort to safeguard the frontiers of Iran” Ahmadinejad said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
He called for unity and said: “We should join hands as we move forward to fulfill our goals.”
Ahmadinejad did not directly address the massive street demonstrations against his proclaimed election victory, but said his government would “resist any violation of law and interference.”
“We will not remain silent, we will not tolerate disrespect, interference and insults,” he said.
Top officials and clerics attended the ceremony, which was boycotted by opposition leaders and moderate lawmakers.
Iran’s opposition has claimed Ahmadinejad stole the vote in the June 12 presidential elections and there have been mass street protests that have shaken the country’s religious leadership. At least 30 demonstrators were killed in the uprising, the authorities said.
Hundreds of police officers were deployed around the parliament yesterday, while a subway station nearby was closed to the public.
Opposition groups had called protesters again to the streets to coincide with the inauguration, with the calls posted on reformist Web sites and blogs — including some linked to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi — indicating the protesters’ determination to continue confronting the establishment.
The official IRNA news agency said there was no “disturbance of the peace” on major streets and roundabouts in the Iranian capital during the inauguration but eyewitnesses said at least 10 people were detained by police.
Security troops also dispersed hundreds of protesters who chanted “Death to the Dictator” in nearby streets, according to the eyewitnesses. Authorities have banned media from covering the street protests, forcing them to rely on eyewitness accounts.
The eyewitnesses said the detained included protesters who wore black T-shirts in a sign of grief over Ahmadinejad’s inauguration and a young man in green pants — the color of Mousavi’s movement — along with a middle-aged woman carrying a royalist banner in support of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The inauguration followed an official endorsement of Ahmadinejad’s presidency on Monday from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Under the Constitution, Ahmadinejad has two weeks to draft a Cabinet for approval in parliament.
Ahmadinejad also pledged to “uproot all sources of corruption” and move the economy forward, saying he believes he can “solve the problem of unemployment.”
He made only a vague reference to the West and the US, which Ahmadinejad’s camp has accused of backing the street protests.
“Some countries have not recognized the elections or extended their congratulations. They do not respect the rights of other nations, yet they recognize themselves as the yardstick for democracy,” said Ahmadinejad.
“Nobody in Iran is waiting for anyone’s congratulations,” Ahmadinejad said, to cheers from lawmakers.
Before Ahmadinejad’s speech, the head of Iranian judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, urged Ahmadinejad “not to use force ... on minor issues.”
Many protesters have now broadened their anger toward the wider Islamic leadership, which they claim has trampled on their rights by recognizing the fraudulent election result.
Another cause for opposition anger is a mass trial scheduled to resume today for more than 100 people, including many prominent reformist activists and political figures. They are accused of encouraging the protests and challenging the Islamic system.
The trial has brought widespread denunciations from reformists and some powerful conservatives — adding to the rifts within Iran’s leadership over its handling of the most serious domestic upheaval since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number