TEHRAN — In a ceremony attended by number of high-ranking officials on Tuesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed Ebrahim Raisi as the 8th president of Iran.

Raisi received the presidential mandate from the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli presented a report on the June 18 presidential election in which Raisi won by a landslide. 

Rahmani Fazli said the Interior Ministry followed the principle of observing the rule of law, maintaining impartiality, creating trust, establishing complete security and a fair competition, and providing a condition for high participation.

They were intended to increase political enthusiasm and encourage voter turnout, the minister said.

He also said the ministry enforced an observation of health protocols in view of the Coronavirus pandemic for those involved in implementing the election as well as candidates and voters. 

The interior minister went on to say that the Guardian Council approved the health of the elections without canceling even a single vote.

“Religious democracy”

After the endorsement, Raisi praised the presidential election as manifestation of religious democracy in Iran.

The president also said in the June 18 election people voted for justice, campaign against corruption, upholding cultural values, and a change of the current situation.

"The message of the people was justice, fighting corruption, and securing the revolutionary and lofty cultural values," he explained. 
 
The president said the high inflation rate has greatly affected people’s daily lives.

“In addition to harming the people's livelihood, people's trust has been shattered,” the president remarked. 

He added that the people called for a “change” in the new administration, and this must happen.

Raisi also said he will make efforts to lift illegal sanctions on Iran but he will not tie the people’s livelihood to decisions by foreign countries.
 
“I will strive to lift the sanctions, but will not link the people's livelihood on foreigners,” he highlighted. 

After the unilateral abrogation of the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the Trump administration in May 2018, Iran and the remaining parties to the deal –Britain, Germany and France (E3) Russia and China – have been holding talks to revive the JCPOA with an indirect involvement of the U.S. under the leadership of Joe Biden.

The talks are being led Enrique Mora, deputy secretary-general and political director of the European External Action Service (EEAS). 

Mora also plans to participate in the inauguration ceremony of Raisi on Thursday.

So far six rounds of talks have been held in this regard. However, with the change of administration in Iran the talks have been put on hold. Six rounds of talks were held until June 20. The talks to revitalize the JCPOA started in April.
 
“Urgent works”

Raisi went on to say that his top priorities are resolving budget deficit, stabilizing the capital market, controlling inflation, fighting the coronavirus pandemic, addressing the issue water scarcity, and increasing production of electricity. 

The president said his government has prepared a short-term transformation plan with a view toward 10 urgent issues.

After Raisi, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution also delivered a speech at the ceremony.

At the beginning of his statements Ayatollah Khamenei stated, “I ask God, the Exalted, to render this beginning a blessed occasion for the people and the country, particularly on these days which are characterized by the remembrance of the Prophet’s Household,” according to Khamenei.ir

While thanking God for having helped the Iranian nation succeed in the June elections, which he described as a sign of religious democracy, the Leader said, “This (endorsement) ceremony, which is based on the Constitution and the custom established by our magnanimous Imam (Khomeini), has been held a number of times.”

Speaking about the transfer of power in Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “In other countries, this transfer of power is normally accompanied by conflicts. But in our country, praise God, it is carried out in a calm, safe manner. This was the case in this election too by God’s grace. This is both a sign of the rationality, peace and tranquility that exists among the people and the officials and a sign of political diversity. The administrations that have held office up until today have had various political orientations. Naturally this diversity is a sign of electoral freedom and healthy elections.”

He described the transfer of power in the country as a source of hope, stressing, “In a transfer of power, new ideas and new resolve enter the field, and this is a source of hope for all those who are highly motivated to serve the country, in particular the youth.”

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the plot to boycott the elections, saying, “A plot had been devised by the political think tanks of the enemies to bring about a boycott on the elections. Inside the country too, some people pursued this idea out of ignorance or perhaps with some ulterior motives. But the people responded firmly by participating in the elections, and the turnout was good. Considering the circumstances that existed at that time, participation was good and it showed the people’s presence on the scene.”

Referring to President Raisi’s statements and his frequent insistence on revolutionary values such as justice and fighting corruption, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution stated that this insistence is being made on the right path and he advised the president to continue this path. He described Raisi’s slogan as being a popular slogan, and asked him to not abandon it. He also advised him to be with the people, to stand by the people’s side in the true sense of the word, and to always speak with them with "sincerity.”

At the end, the Leader spoke of the enemy’s propaganda war and said, “Today, most of the enemy’s moves against Iran are carried out by using soft warfare and media. They spend a great deal in order to dominate public opinion in our country. They hire many intellectuals in order to be able to dominate and control public opinion in countries, especially in our country. When public opinion in a country is controlled by foreigners, the affairs of that country will be shaped according to their whims. Therefore, we must be stronger and wiser in the field of publicity.”
 

SA/PA