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Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s new president, steps into power
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formally endorsed on Tuesday (August 3) the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric who is under U.S. sanctions for human rights abuses.
The inauguration ceremony in Tehran was attended by Khamenei, Raisi, Iran’s outgoing president Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian officials.
Raisi’s victory in the country’s June presidential election might aggravate the revival of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear pact with world powers.
Raisi, like Iran’s supreme leader, has backed the indirect U.S.-Iranian negotiations in Vienna.
Raisi succeeds pragmatist Hassan Rouhani, having secured victory at a June 18 election marked by voter apathy over economic hardships and political restrictions.
Rights groups have criticised the election of Raisi in a vote in which prominent rivals were barred from standing.