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Iran swears in new president
RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSTEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has officially become Iran's new president Saturday, taking the oath of office before the country's lawmakers, government officials, foreign diplomats and others. Saturday's inauguration ceremony was the second for Ahmadinejad. On Wednesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pronounced his election legitimate as validated by the election results in a ceremony featuring song and prayers. In the oath, Ahmadinejad swore to "be the guardian of the official religion and the teachings of Islam, to deploy all my efforts and all my strength and energy in service to the people and the development of this country." He also pledged to defend the country's borders and Iran's cultural, economic and political independence. He now has 15 days to name his new cabinet. In a speech following his swearing-in, Ahmadinejad said he will "defend the rights and interest of our people and our country ... we do not humble ourselves in the poisoned atmosphere created by foreign sources. We will remain strong and vigilant and work to overcome the obstacles in our way to achieve our goals and objectives." Although naming no nation, Ahmadinejad criticized countries which talk of peace but "mean the submission of countries to their policies. We respect the international organizations, but we will not follow policies that ignore our interests." He also pledged that his government would be fair, just and compassionate, and that service to Iranians will be its priority. "We want peace and security and justice for all countries, for all peoples, our neighbors and countries beyond," he said, "and hope to witness the cooperation of all governments for peace and tranquility in the world." The ceremony, in the halls of parliament, began with the Iranian national anthem and also featured readings from the Quran. Ahmadinejad, a hard-line conservative who formerly served as mayor of Tehran, won a come-from-behind victory in June over former two-term President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, receiving more than 61 percent of the vote. After Wednesday's ceremony, Ahmadinejad pledged to create a government that will fight corruption and promote justice for all citizens, saying he plans action rather than words. He also said he would work to reduce inflation and interest rates in Iran. Shortly after his election, asked about the United States, Ahmadinejad said Iran had "no significant need for the United States." He has defended Iran's stance that the country wants to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Washington has accused Tehran of operating a clandestine nuclear weapons program. Britain, France and Germany have been negotiating with Iran on the issue; Iranian officials currently are considering a package of proposals from European negotiators that offers long-term support for Iran's civil nuclear program so long as Iran does not develop nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad has advocated embracing the principles of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He won support from many vigilantes and popular militias, as well as poor residents. He has said he wants to turn some cultural institutions, created in recent years, into mosques. Following his election, some former hostages at the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979 said they believed Ahmadinejad may have been one of their captors. Iranian officials, however, have denied Ahmadinejad was part of the Nov. 4, 1979 takeover of the embassy, which flowed from a protest demanding the United States return the shah -- who had been overthrown by the Islamic revolution 11 months before and was receiving cancer treatment in New York -- to Tehran for trial. And last week, a U.S. official told CNN that CIA analysis of a photograph of a hostage-taker at the embassy, taken around the time of the siege, determined the individual was not Ahmadinejad. But the official said it had not been established whether Ahmadinejad had a role in the embassy takeover. 
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