DUBAI, July 30 (Reuters) – Iran's new President Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in on Tuesday after winning elections earlier this month on a pledge to improve ties with the world and ease restrictions on social freedoms at home.
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“We will pursue constructive and effective interaction with the world, based on dignity, wisdom and opportunism,” Pezeshkian, a relative moderate, told a parliament session attended by foreign dignitaries and broadcast live on state television.
His victory has raised hopes that hostile relations between Iran and the West will improve, creating opportunities to end the nuclear confrontation with world powers.
But Pezeshkian takes office at a time of rising tensions in the Middle East over the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the cross-border fight with Iranian ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
