Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took the oath of office before parliament in Tehran, in the presence of dignitaries, including EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini. Rouhani, who was decisively re-elected in May of this year, after promising to open Iran to the world and create more jobs, took the opportunity to attack the United States for what he said, was Washington’s efforts to undermine the Iranian nuclear deal with world powers, and urged European countries not to side with Washington. In a meeting with Mogherini earlier this week, President Rouhani declared that the presence of senior European dignitaries at his swearing-in ceremony showed that Europe was determined to expand ties with the Islamic Republic despite the immense pressure from Washington, a show of European support that Iranian sources told TV7 “would provide the Iranian president with the political and diplomatic confidence to continue with his aggressive foreign policy.”
