Rouhani Underlines Dialogue on Equal Footing as Only Way to Interact with Iran

Iran’s New President Hassan Rouhani cautioned the West to drop its language of force and threat, and stressed that detente, talks on an equal footing, confidence building and mutual respect present the only fruitful way of dealing with Iran. [VIDEO]
President Rouhani made the remarks at the end of his swearing-in ceremony at the venue of the Iranian parliament in Tehran Sunday afternoon.

“Constructive interaction on equal footing and based on mutual respect and common interests will be the basis of our foreign relations with the other countries, and we will move to enhance our ties proportionate to the behavior and attitude of the other sides,” Rouhani said.

“I frankly say that if you want a proper response, speak to the Iranian nation not with the language of sanction, but with the language of respect,” the Iranian president said addressing the western countries.

The swearing-in ceremony of the new Iranian President kicked off in the capital, Tehran, at 16:00 local time (1130 GMT) on Sunday in the presence of senior Iranian state and military officials as well as foreign dignitaries.

The session continued with a brief speech by Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, who presided the meeting and welcomed the guests, specially the foreign officials partaking in the ceremony.

Over 249 Iranian and foreign officials were present at the ceremony, including several world leaders.

From Iran, all the heads and senior officials of the three branches of power, chief of staff of the Supreme Leader, chairman of the Assembly of Experts, Expediency Council chairman, Expediency Council Secretary, Guardian Council members and chairman, parliament members, senior administration officials of Ahmadinejad’s government, the household of the late Imam Khomeini (the late founder of the Islamic Republic), senior Muslim clerics and Shiite Jurisprudents, governor generals, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, senior Army and Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders, and tens of Iranian and foreign journalists took part at the ceremony.

According to Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Araqchi, foreign dignitaries from 52 countries and the United Nations as well as three special guests participated in the swearing-in ceremony of President Hassan Rouhani.

“Ten presidents, eight vice-presidents, two prime ministers, three deputy prime ministers, seven parliament speakers, 11 foreign ministers and 13 other ministers represent their governments in today’s ceremony,” Araqchi said before the ceremony.

Delegations from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Armenia, North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Swaziland, Russia, Venezuela, Algeria, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uzbekistan, Malaysia, India, Nicaragua, Cuba, Kuwait, Ukraine, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Oman came to Iran to take part in the ceremony.

Larijani’s inaugural address was followed by a speech by Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani.

Then, Dr. Hassan Rouhani was sworn in by the Judiciary chief as Iran’s New President.

The ceremony continued by Rouhani’s presidential address.

The swearing-in ceremony was held a day after Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei endorsed Rouhani’s presidential decree. The endorsement ceremony on Saturday which lasted for about an hour was attended by senior Iranian state and military officials as well as foreign dignitaries.

Addressing the endorsement ceremony yesterday, Rouhani said “the election displayed maturity of the ruling system and built increasing trust between the ruling system and the people”.

“The June election was held with full transparency, rivalry and tranquility and its results surprised many because Iran, which was imagined by ill-wishers to start experiencing domestic conflicts and a wide gap between the state and the nation as a result of sanctions and isolations, created an almost unique epic through hectic election and massive participation of the people from different walks of life (in that election),” he noted.

Rouhani promised to concentrate more on economic prosperity and increased investment in industries and agriculture, saying that his “government’s orientation will comprise saving Iran’s economy, reviving ethics and constructive interaction with the world”.

The Iranian president vowed to take “new steps on the scene of international relations in a bid to enhance Iran’s dignity and position based on national interests and removal of the present cruel sanctions”.

Rouhani emerged victorious in Iran’s June 14 presidential election, which was marked by a high voter turnout. He won 50.7 percent of the votes.

The Interior Ministry put voter turnout at 72.7 percent.

Rouhani has been a representative of Ayatollah Khamenei at the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for nearly two decades. He is also a member of the Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts, and was the president of the Expediency Council’s Center for Strategic Research until today.