Iran’s new president is sworn in and pledges to keep trying to remove Western sanctions

Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has sworn in the country’s new president, a reformist politician and heart surgeon who pledged to keep trying to remove economic sanctions imposed by the West over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a speech after taking his oath in a ceremony on Tuesday at the parliament in Tehran. He said he considers the normalization of economic relations with the world to be Iran’s inalienable right. He said: “I will not stop trying to remove the oppressive sanctions.” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Sunday officially endorsed Pezeshkian, a longtime lawmaker. Pezeshkian won he July presidential election after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a May helicopter crash that sparked the early election.